4 RTÉ: IT’S YOURS, SAVE IT! Conference support for public service broadcasting


Strong calls for government action to protect public service broadcasting were made at the biennial delegate conference. Delegates unanimously backed a motion tabled by the Irish Executive Council and moved by the Irish Secretary. Dublin branch chair Emma O’Kelly, former RTÉ


reporter Michael Fisher and IFJ delegate Ronan Brady were among those who spoke on the late notice motion while in her address Michelle Stanistreet, General Secretary drew parallels between the plight of RTÉ and the BBC. As part of the conference the IEC launched stage one of its campaign aimed at highlighting the financial crisis at RTÉ. The motion noted the crisis at RTÉ and


declared: This Delegate Conference reaffirms its support for a Government Commission on the Future of the Media in Ireland. The erosion of public service broadcasting poses a threat to democracy and diminishes the cultural fabric of this country. Conference notes that in October 2018 the


Broadcasting Authority of Ireland recommended that, at a minimum, RTÉ should receive an increase of €30m in its annual allocation, with immediate effect, in order to address the serious financial situation at the organisation. This recommendation, supported by independent research, has not been implemented. Against this backdrop the RTÉ Executive Board is


seeking to impose a range of cost reducing measures. Employees in RTÉ, who have not received a pay increase in over a decade, will not accept


responsibility for a crisis brought about by inadequate State funding and corporate mismanagement of resources. The proposals announced in November 2019 serve to undermine key elements of public service broadcasting in Ireland. Conference notes that NUJ members employed at


RTÉ have embraced technological change. The false narrative that the current crisis is a result of outdated work practises ignores the collaborative manner in which the NUJ has approached major changes throughout the organisation. This BDC affirms its support for the stand taken by


the RTÉ sub branch of Dublin Broadcasting branch, the branch itself and the RTÉ Trade Union Group that all changes must be negotiated having due regard to collective agreements, the internal industrial mechanisms within RTÉ, including the Industrial Relations Tribunal and the principle that redundancies must be voluntary. This BDC affirms its opposition to enforced cuts in


wages and terms and condition of employment and to measures undermining the position of vulnerable freelance workers employed across the organisation. BDC calls upon NUJ members to support the


political lobbying campaign aimed at securing improved State funding for Public Service Broadcasting and instructs the Irish Executive Council to work with the RTÉ Trade Union Group, sister unions and the ICTU to create great public awareness of the consequences of the political failure to properly fund RTÉ.


Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley, left, with RTÉ Trade Union group officers Shirley Bradshaw, (SIPTU), chair, and Fran McNulty (NUJ), vice chair, as they arrive for the opening of the RTÉ negotiations. The talks continue under the direction of Kevin Duffy, former chair, Labour Court. In the background is Cearbhall Ó Síocháin, secretary, TUG, (obscured) and Karen O'Loughlin, divisional organiser, SIPTU. Photo: Rollingnews.ie.


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