TVNZ pay systems risky and unfair

December 14, 2005

TVNZ pay systems risky and unfair

The remuneration system at TVNZ is convoluted, risky, unfair and inconsistent, the Parliamentary select committee inquiry into TVNZ has been told today.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little told the select committee that while staff represented by the union did not begrudge high-profile, front-of-camera staff big rises in their already large salaries, other staff had had to make do with pay increases of less than 2 per cent a year.

“TVNZ staff do not regard the remuneration system as objective, consistent, transparent and easily understood,” he said.

Mr Little said that TVNZ staff were concerned about the level of publicity the state broadcaster had received recently.

“It is appropriate that Parliament provides good scrutiny of the governance of TVNZ and of the exercise by shareholding ministers of their rights and obligations as proxy owners on behalf of the public,” he said.

“However, Parliament itself needs to be aware that the role of a public broadcaster with a newsgathering and current affairs role is to provide scrutiny of, among other things, Parliament and its members.

“Parliament, when exercising its scrutiny role over the governance of TVNZ and fulfilment of the statutory charter should not, wittingly or unwittingly, intrude into scrutinising the news-gathering and current affairs function. To do so compromises the effectiveness of the broadcaster and, potentially, the professionalism of those it employs.”

ENDS

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