NUJ protests over INN job losses

By Stephen Rogers

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

THE National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has asked the rights commissioner to investigate its claim that workers at Independent New Network (INN) were made redundant illegally.

The board of INN is seeking to close down the network news service on October 30 and is already looking at tenders from six different consortia to provide a temporary news service for the 18 local stations affected by INN’s closure.

Yesterday, journalists representing national and regional media organisations gathered in Dublin for a lunchtime rally in support of 17 INN journalists who are threatened with redundancy.

At the rally NUJ general secretary Seamus Dooley said the company had refused to engage with the NUJ, had refused to co-operate with the Labour Relations Commission and had failed to notify the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the collective redundancies.

Mr Dooley also condemned the "look, no hands" approach of the Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan to the threatened closure.

Yesterday the minister said he was "concerned" at the closure and said it was a "huge loss".

"I think INN provided an essential service for radio stations across the country and I think they applied it in the highest standards of good independent journalism so I think its loss is hugely significant for the country and for the quality of broadcast news.

"I hope that there can be, whatever about the arrangements in the particular company, that we can get some similar service back up and running because I think the country needs that sort of independent news service."

In response Mr Dooley said the minister appeared to accept the closure of INN as a fait accompli.

"In fact he spoke of INN in the past tense. It is a matter of public record that the NUJ has asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to investigate the proposed closure and have asked the Director of Corporate Enforcement to investigate.

"We have also challenged the company’s failure to notify the redundancies to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We want the illegal redundancy notices withdrawn and we do not see this as a done deal. It is regrettable in his broadcast comments that Mr Ryan has made no reference to the fundamental issues arising from the planned closure."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, October 14, 2009