The Dublin Council of Trade Unions is condemning proposals by RTE management to cut 400 jobs, and outsource many key productions.
It says RTE workers should not have to pay the price for what it described as management incompetence and Government failures.
The unions also called for a sustainable model of funding for all public service media.
At it’s monthly meeting, the Executive Council expressed solidarity with the RTE Group of Union and affiliate unions in their campaign to protect employment at the public service broadcaster.
The plan to cut 400 jobs is contained in the strategy document “A New Direction for RTE” which also envisages an increase in the outsourcing of production and cuts in unidentified services.
Here is their statement:
“RTE workers must not pay the price for management incompetence and Government failures. The Dublin Council of Trade Unions condemns the proposals by RTE management to cut 400 jobs, outsource many key productions and drastically limit the capacity of RTE to serve the public interest in the future.
These cost cutting proposals will certainly have a negative impact on programme output and do nothing to restore audience confidence in the organisation.
It is utterly unacceptable that workers who had no role in creating the current crisis are made to pay the price for management incompetence and the failure of successive governments to develop a sustainable funding model for public service broadcasting.
The Dublin Council of Trade Unions stands in support of the RTE Trade Union Group in campaigning to retain decent working conditions and secure employment for all workers who play such a vital role in providing an important and reliable public service.
It is time for those in the political system to stop paying lip service to the importance of public service media, and to address at last how this sector can be protected, and expanded, to serve the interests of the public now and in the future.
We call on the Government, as a matter of urgency, to develop a sustainable model of funding for all public service media, thereby providing decent and secure employment conditions and good career prospects for all workers in the industry. It is essential that such funding would be independent of any political or commercial interference.
The Dublin Council of Trade Union calls on all our affiliated Unions and their members to support our colleagues in RTE who face such an uncertain future.”
