NZ Herald talks fail

May 30, 2001

Media Release

NZ Herald talks fail

Negotiations today have failed to settle the NZ Herald journalists dispute.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union advocate Tony Wilton said that the company was sticking to its position on the crucial issue of who could belong to the collective agreement, despite a significant move from the union.

"We offered to agree to exclude 12 senior editorial management positions from the agreement," Mr Wilton said.

"This was a significant concession, yet the company continues to insist that more than 30 people should be denied the right to join the collective if they want to. The most it offered was to allow four existing members to stay covered by the collective for as long as they held those jobs."

The 130 journalists involved in the dispute will meet soon to discuss their next move. Last week they were on strike for nearly four days in protest at the breakdown in talks.

Mr Wilton said that the journalists were deeply disappointed by their employer's intransigence.

"We take this as a sign that the company is determined to deprive its employees of the right to choose to bargain collectively under the Employment Relations Act," he said.

"It's disappointing that the company, far from adopting the spirit of good faith and co-operation promoted by the ERA, seems determined to resist and negate the intentions of the legislation."

Ends

For further information contact Tony Wilton on 025 2900033 or Adelia Hallett on 025 2900037.

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