Radio-Canada tentative deal avoids autumn strike, union to vote on 14.5% raise
STTRC–CSN and Radio-Canada management signed a tentative agreement early Friday. Union members will vote within one to two weeks on the 14.5% salary increase over four years.
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Radio-Canada and the union representing French-language staff have reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that could have disrupted the national broadcaster's fall schedule.
The STTRC–CSN and Radio-Canada management signed the tentative agreement in the early hours of Friday, September 4. The deal offers salary increases of 14.5 per cent over four years—splitting the difference between the union's demand for 20 per cent over three years and management's offer of 11 per cent over four years.
The collective agreement had expired in March after salary disagreements blocked negotiations for several weeks. Two weeks before the tentative agreement, the STTRC–CSN had stated members had become impoverished in recent years and were among the lowest-paid in the media industry, with a strike in autumn described as a real possibility.
The timing was consequential. At the end of the mediation process, a strike or lockout could theoretically have begun on September 23—the date of the national leaders' debate, which would have been hosted by Patrice Roy and cancelled had labour action occurred. Radio-Canada management had been seriously preparing for the strike possibility during the summer.
Lise Millette, interim president of STTRC–CSN, said the union will now consult its membership. "We're giving ourselves one to two weeks to tour our members and then we'll convene a general assembly after which there will be a vote. I can't presume what our members will decide, but the negotiating committee recommends accepting the offer," Millette said.
Radio-Canada management declined to comment Friday on the tentative agreement.
The facts
When did Radio-Canada and the union reach a tentative agreement?
The STTRC–CSN and Radio-Canada management signed the tentative agreement in the early hours of Friday, September 4, 2026.
What salary increase does the tentative agreement offer?
The deal offers salary increases of 14.5 per cent over four years.
When will union members vote on the agreement?
Union members will vote within one to two weeks after the STTRC–CSN tours its membership and convenes a general assembly.
What was the union's original salary demand?
The STTRC–CSN had demanded salary increases of 20 per cent over three years, compared to Radio-Canada management's offer of 11 per cent over four years.
