RTÉ NUJ members pass motion expressing anger at the RTE’s secret payments to Ryan Tubridy
The chapel held an emergency meeting today
The following motion was unanimously adopted:
NUJ members in RTÉ remain committed to the core principles of public service broadcasting and to the highest standards of ethical journalism.
The revelations of undisclosed payments to Ryan Tubridy and the secretive arrangement with a third party threaten to undermine the trust which is the cornerstone of our relationship with the Irish people.
Members are angry and dismayed at the failure of the Executive Board to address the grave concerns of staff and the decision by management to refuse all media interviews. RTÉ should be a model of best practice in regard to employment, corporate governance, industrial relations and public procurement. The concept of secret third-party contracts and special arrangements is incompatible with the concept of public service broadcasting.
We are calling for:
- The RTÉ ExecutiveBoardtomake themselves available to RTÉprogrammesand other media to address the very many questions that need answering.
- We want to know who signed off on these secret payments and who knew about them.
- We want those responsible to be held to account.
- We welcome the new announcement of an independent enquiry. We want its scope to be broadened to include wider issues relating to renumeration, including pensions andperks.
- We also want an end to what members see as a culture of secrecy surrounding pay,pensionsandperksat theorganisation.
- We want anindependentexamination of RTÉ’s use of third-partyagents acting onbehalf of a select group and the appropriateness of such relationships in a public broadcastingorganisation."
Emma O Kelly said today’s NUJ meeting was the largest held in recent memory at the broadcaster. Members spoke of how devastated, ashamed, betrayed and angered they are. She said:
‘’Our members have worked extremely hard to earn and maintain the trust of the Irish public. That trust is something we value and respect hugely.
"They are devastated to see the hard-earned goodwill of the public undermined as a result of this scandal. We will continue to do our jobs to the best of our ability, and that includes holding RTÉ to the same standards that the public expects of any publicly funded body. We demand that our viewers and listeners are treated with respect, and we want that respect extended also to staff at RTÉ.’’