Media24 retrenchments may be much larger; Solidarity calls for greater disclosure

Questions now exist about the full extent of Media24’s restructuring plans after conflicting section 189A notices were sent to affected staff this week.

Consequently, Solidarity has requested Media24 to come forward with the full picture and figures to provide clarity on the situation so that the true impact can be determined.

Initial retrenchment notices to affected staff mentioned that approximately 126 positions could be affected and referred in particular to employees on sports and lifestyle editorial teams.

According to Johan Roos, labour relations organiser at Solidarity, it is now suspected that the number of employees affected could be much larger than originally stated by Media24.

“Notices sent to different departments differ and create confusion, and it is clear to us that this is much wider than initially indicated. 

“We want to be able to see which staff in which departments are affected, from sports and lifestyle editorial teams to the business news editorial teams, as well as sales staff and any other employees. Instead of vague indications, we need the full and transparent picture of the retrenchments planned for the organisation,” says Roos.

Solidarity is the largest union at Media24 and is concerned about yet another retrenchment process that affects ordinary employees rather than top management, whose irresponsible management and editorial decisions are getting the company into even more trouble.

Solidarity has therefore also called on Media24 to disclose its full strategic and financial plans, as well as the salaries of senior staff and editors. This is because Solidarity does not believe that another retrenchment process is the solution to ongoing management problems.

In the meantime, Solidarity will also assist members affected by the section 189A process at Novus Media and the large-scale retrenchments planned by eMedia at its eNCA editorial office, where up to 171 jobs could be lost.