Newspaper dismissing 85

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33315, 28 August 1973, Page 1

Newspaper dismissing 85

f.V.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 27.

Eighty-five journalists employed by the Wellington morning newspaper, the “Dominion,” began receiving dismissal notices today from Independent Newspapers, Ltd, the newspaper group which employs them.

The dismissals follow the journalists’ refusal to accept a wage cut as a result of the management’s decision to abolish a special 7J per cent allowance paid to them for the last eight years to compensate for liability to extra work involved in the production of the “Sunday Times,” another paper in the Independent Newspapers group.

Independent Newspapers announced last Friday that unless the journalistic staff accepted the cut it would be dismissed as from September 29—and then offered reemployment at present award rates. COMBINED MEETING The president of the New Zealand Journalists’ Associ-

ation (Mr R. C. Fox) said tonight that a combined meeting would be held tomorrow afternoon of journalists from the “Dominion” and the two other Wellington newspapers which were members of the Independent Newspapers group—“N:Z. Truth” and the “Evening Post.”

Mr Fox described the ultimatum as “industrial blackmail” at a time when members were taking legal action

to recover the allowance which the company stopped paying last month. The managing director of Independent Newspapers (Mr J. A. Burnet) said earlier that the old house allowance had been superseded by a special allowance under this year’s new award.

The group had to be firm in its attitude because of the far-reaching repercussions to the company and the newspaper industry if the company had to pay wages under an old agreement and wages under a new agreement as well, Mr Burnet said. Proposals by the company for an out-of-court settlement were rejected by the staff last Friday. In a joint statement, Mr Fox and the president of the Wellington Journalists’ Union (Mr R. G. R. Anderson) said the company maintained that the 1973 award superseded the agreement, but house agreements were above the award. The union felt Independent Newspapers was moving towards a rationalisation of its interests, and was trying to provoke industrial action which could be used as an excuse to close, or merge any of the group’s newspapers, they said, A spokesman for the pub-

lishers said tonight, that production of the “Dominion” would not immediately be affected.