SIPTU representatives have said that swift action and genuine accountability are essential if the crisis in trust for station staff and the public concerning financial governance in RTÉ is to begin to be allayed following the emergence of hidden payments at the national broadcaster. SIPTU Organiser, Martin Mannion, said: “The adverse impact of the emergence of hidden payments to the most prominent broadcaster in RTÉ cannot be overstated. This is a massive breach of trust by senior management at the station with its workforce and the public. It has confirmed and compounded an existing severe lack of confidence and distrust among RTÉ staff concerning the activities of senior management at the station “The context surrounding this issue is key. At the time of these payments many low paid staff at the station were being asked to accept cost reduction measures, they received only one pay rise in more than a decade and the broadcaster was discovered to have widely undermined statutory workers’ rights through the implementation of bogus self-employment schemes. “What has now emerged is a further example of dual standards at the public service broadcaster. This is immensely damaging and station management should not underestimate the degree of anger among our members. They are committed to the ideals of public service broadcasting of transparency, truth telling and accountability. “The only way that there can be any start to rebuilding the essential trust that we must have in the public service broadcaster is that due process is followed in a swift and transparent manner to resolve this crisis. This must result in those responsible for this situation being held fully accountable for their financial mismanagement, lack of truthfulness and damage perpetrated on one of our essential public institutions.” He added: “A trusted public broadcaster is vital for the good operation of our society. It must be a source of information that can be relied upon, it must be in a position where it can hold others to account, it must not be associated with sharp practice and graft. “SIPTU members at RTÉ who have dedicated their careers to the best principles of public service will settle for nothing less than full accountability and serious reform at the station.”
SIPTU says swift action and genuine accountability essential in RTÉ payments scandal
