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‘Fat cat’ ownership is impacting on pay and conditions


The concent rat ion of media ownership does have an impact on pay and conditions as well as the quality of content, Séamus Dooley, Irish Secretary told the Biennial Delegate Conference. Two motions on media


ownership were tabled and Carol Byrne from the Irish South West Branch told Conference: “We have a problem in this country with media ownership and we need to deal with it. “We have fat cats buying up newspapers and media organisations like they were buying up property on a monopoly board. “As well as the implications


for the public consuming news controlled by a


concentrated few, the more media outlets they own the more damage they can do to pay and conditions. “If pay and conditions across these titles become standardised, what hope is there for the union to work on improving those pay and conditions? Individual chapels and house agreements are under threat from groups like Iconic who refuse to recognise the union and who will not engage.” She also said i t was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and sustain membership when journalists were working for companies l ike Iconic who do not recognise the union. “Membership will continue to fall if people fail to see a


Carol Byrne: problem must be tackled.


point in being part of the union, if one of the largest players in the market does not recognise it. “And worryingly other


players in the market are seeing they're getting away with it.


“We note the work already


done on this issue. In tabling this motion Irish South West would like to ensure this issue is kept firmly on the agenda and that the union continues to lobby our Government into addressing this before it is too late.”


Irish Secretary, Séamus


Dooley, agreed that this issue needed to be widely debated in the public eye as it affected the quality and content of news that was available to readers.


Emma O’Kelly, Chair, Dublin Broadcasting branch, and Dublin (Newspapers) branch officers Martin Fitzpatrick, Jim Aughney and Des Coughlan.


DM pictures: Maxwell Photography.


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