Union challenges Herald redundancies

The union that represents newspaper workers is challenging claims by the country’s largest newspaper that it needs to make people redundant.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said that Australian Provincial Newspapers’ assertion that it needed to make nine people redundant at the New Zealand Herald did not hold water.

“These claims cannot be justified in this climate,” he said.

“In February, APN announced a record profit of $A130.2 million, up 26 per cent on the previous year,” he said.

“It said that New Zealand Herald advertising volume had grown by 1.7 per cent and that yield was up 7.2 per cent. It described the New Zealand economy as buoyant and said ‘business conditions in New Zealand remain positive and we look forward to another successful year’. Those are not the words of a company that needs to shed staff.”

Mr Little said union officials would meet the company next week to discuss the situation.

Meanwhile, staff at the Herald have reacted angrily to the suggestion of layoffs, passing a vote of no confidence in managers.

ENDS

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