Canadian broadcaster locks out 5,500 staff

Canadian public broadcaster CBC has locked out 5,500 workers after failing to reach an agreement with their union.

Employees have been without contracts for more than a year, and CBC is also planning to recruit new staff on a contract basis rather than full-time.

The broadcaster says it will rely on the 10% of its employees who are not union members to maintain programming.

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The lockout took place just after midnight on Monday after last-minute talks broke down.

The Canadian Media Guild said 30% of CBC’s employees were already non-permanent, but the broadcaster had insisted that it needed more flexibility in its workforce.