Sick days cost CBC $15M
Sick days and short-term disability leave are costing the taxpayer-funded CBC over $15 million annually in lost productivity.
Documents obtained through Access to Information reveal that in 2006-07 the CBC lost $15.3 million as a result of 68,000 sick days taken by the Crown corporation's staff of just under 10,000 employees. That was up from $13.6 million in lost productivity the previous year.
"Although, as with many large organizations, the absentee rates and the costs seem to be rising generally the absentee rates at CBC do appear to be high and they certainly are of concern to us," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
In 2006-07, the CBC received $974 million from the federal government.
While the $15.3 million loss may seem staggering, when compared with the federal public service, the CBC has a better record.
According to Statistics Canada, federal employees missed an average of 9.2 days of work in 2007 because of illness but CBC employees only missed an average of 7.4 days.
While the numbers suggest CBC employees take fewer sick days than a federal government employees, when the numbers are broken down into staff for French and English CBC, they tell a different story.
Staff working at CBC French television missed 9.7 days of work in 2006-07 while CBC French radio staff missed 8.2 days of work.
This is in stark contrast to CBC's English television staff that missed only six days of work that year and CBC's English radio staff who missed even less at 5.9 days.
Keay said the CBC has been working with the unions which represent CBC employees to find out what they can do to cut back on the number of days employees miss each year.
Aside from general health, the CBC says Keay has recognized that as a news gathering organization its employees work in a high stress environment and are concentrating on the mental well-being of staff.
In 2005, the corporation conducted a survey of nearly half its staff and found that 44% were displaying symptoms of high-level psychological distress. Nine out of 10 said the distress was related to their work.
The survey also revealed a tension between staff and management and a culture where people failed to show mutual respect in the workplace.
Since that time, the CBC has been mandating that each employee attend a half-day "respect seminar" designed to improve relations between staff.
Lenny Kravitz scraps Canadian run
Retro rocker Lenny Kravitz has pulled the plug on the rest of his trek through the Great White North due to "illness".
"Following rave reviews and record attendances across Canada it is with great regret that Lenny Kravitz has had to cancel the remainder of his Canadian tour," reads an announcement posted at Kravitz's MySpace page "Lenny is suffering from severe throat problems that have resulted in him not being able to sing or even talk."
The announcement goes on to say that "2009 will be a huge year for Lenny with a world tour that will play heavily in the US and Canada. Lenny looks forward to seeing all of his Canadian fans again at this time and once again apologizes for the very unforeseen cancellation."
Cattrall Confirms Sex And The City Sequel
Kim Cattrall has confirmed there will be a Sex And The City movie sequel - with filming scheduled to begin as early as next summer.
The actress, who played maneater Samantha Jones in the hit U.S. TV series, was the last of the original core cast - which included Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis - to agree to star in the big-screen adaptation.
Earlier this year, Parker alluded to the possibility of a sequel to the blockbuster, promising that she and writer/director Michael Patrick King would "have that conversation (about a sequel) sooner rather than later".
And, speaking to pop star Melanie Brown in a U.K. TV interview on Tuesday, Cattrall revealed that a follow-up is indeed in the pipeline.
She told the former Spice Girl: "Yes, there will be a sequel. We will do the sequel next summer.
"We wanted to (film) the first time, and now we're hopefully doing it again for the second time."
However, she added that it was "difficult getting everybody who's so incredibly busy all together at the same time".
The movie Sex And The City stormed international box offices after its May release, grossing more than $391 million (GBP211.4 million) worldwide.
"Madagascar" top destination for moviegoers
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Hollywood should jump back into the win column this weekend with three diverse wide openers, led by "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."
A built-in fan base and strong early reviews could help the DreamWorks Animation sequel outpace the 2005 franchise original's opening Friday-Sunday haul of $47.2 million. "Madagascar" bowed during a Memorial Day frame and thus posted a four-day opening of $61 million, en route to grossing $193.6 million overall domestically.
The Paramount-distributed sequel certainly should ring up at least $45 million-$50 million, but a big weekend of moviegoing could push the comedy even a bit higher.
"I think the movie has a real shot at opening over $50 million," Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said. "The only real wild card is the weather. If it rains, that's great news for any film that plays to a family audience. But if it snows, it kills you."
Like its predecessor, the new "Madagascar" was co-directed by Eric Darnell -- who helmed 1998's "Antz" -- and Tom McGrath, who directed two episodes of "The Ren & Stimpy Show" before getting his big-screen break. Its voice cast again features Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Elsewhere among the weekend debuts, Universal unspools the raunchy comedy "Role Models," while MGM sends out the urban-skewing "Soul Men," starring the late Bernie Mac. Sales for the new films will be padded by grosses for holdovers including Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which has held the top spot for the past two weekends.
That should make for a combo powerful enough to outpace the comparable year-ago weekend, a $114 million frame whose top opener was Warner Bros.' seasonal comedy "Fred Claus" with a disappointing $18.5 million. Total sales marked a year-over-year decline last weekend for the first time in six sessions.
"Role Models" has been drawing quite a favorable response from critics, and prerelease tracking indicates solid interest among young male moviegoers for the Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd starrer, suggesting a bow in the low single-digit millions. Anything higher would seem unlikely with "Madagascar" hitting the marketplace and the Weinstein Co.'s R-rated comedy "Zack and Miri Make A Porno" in just its second weekend.
"Soul Men" will be helped by core appeal among fans of both Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, and an inaugural weekend of as much as $10 million appears possible. (In an odd twist of fate, Mac actually has two films opening this weekend; he provides a voice in "Madagascar" as the father of Stiller's lead character Alex the Lion.)
Mac's death this year prompted helmer Malcolm D. Lee ("Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins") to add some poignant bio clips prior to the film's final credits. "Soul Man" also features the late Isaac Hayes in a smaller role.
Limited openers include this doozy: Lionsgate's campy rock musical "Repo! The Genetic Opera," which unspools in eight locations in six markets.
Rated R for gore and violence, "Repo" is based on a stage musical with songs composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich and a futuristic sci-fi theme. The cast includes pop songstress Sarah Brightman and Paris Hilton, with Darren Lynn Bousman ("Saw II," "III," "IV") directing.
Lionsgate plans a slow expansion over coming frames, hoping to spin a cult fan base built on word-of-mouth.
"If we're lucky, we'll turn it into a 'Rocky Horror' kind of film," Lionsgate distribution president Steve Rothenberg said.