The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has expressed grave concern at the ongoing crisis in RTÉ and called on the board of the public service broadcaster to make the restoration of public trust a key priority.
Owen Reidy, General Secretary said: “Public service broadcasting is vital to the functioning of a healthy democracy. The events of the past week threaten to undermine trust and confidence in RTÉ and to undermine the outstanding work of staff within the organisation over decades of committed public service.
Congress stands firmly with the RTÉ Trade Union Group and shares the frustration of workers who have been prepared to take pay cuts in the recent past to secure the future of RTÉ at a time when management was doing side deals with a third party.
We welcome the external review announced by Minister Catherine Martin into the culture within RTÉ and look forward to the publication of the terms of reference. It is important that the review is transparent and that the interests of workers are reflected In the process. No one knows RTÉ better than the workers and any review of the culture within the organisation must deal with issues raised by the TUG group and constituent unions, including employment practices, the use of third-party agents, and the general lack of transparency that has developed. Congress would be concerned at the implication that reform of public service broadcasting, which is already overdue, would be delayed pending the proposed RTÉ review.
The review is already behind schedule and following a 12-month delay in publishing the Report of the Future of Media Commission. RTÉ, TG4, the independent production sector, commercial radio at the national level, and the broadcasting regulatory system are all connected to the public service broadcasting review and it would be ill-advised to halt reform because of corporate governance issues in one area.
