Journalists ban coverage of show

Press, 9 November 1988, Page 3

Journalists ban coverage of show

Journalists at “The Press” have imposed a ban on coverage of the 1988 Canterbury International Agricultural Show in response to the breakdown in their national award talks. The ban will prevent the publication of any results, news items, or photographs from the show in “The Press” from tomorrow. The ban was decided on by the management committee of the Journalists’ Union’s Canterbury-West-land branch, after a stopwork meeting of members at “The Press” last Thursday. Members had discussed options for industrial action and voted to authorise the committee to decide the details. The action stemmed from the breakdown in award talks last Wednesday, when union assessors walked out after a day and a half of negotiations. They had sought a wage rise of 8.5 per cent, but employers offered 2.5 per cent, tabling a report on the financial state of the industry to justify a need

for restraint. Counterclaims, including restructuring the grading scale and the loss of automatic grading rises, were described by the union as an unprecedented attack on working conditions. “The talks were at an impasse, and members would not accept that sort of settlement,” said "The Press” union delegate, Ms Janetta Mackay. . The ban on the show was chosen because it involved action by members in a number of editorial departments, and would be a public way to expres the union’s discontent without disrupting publication of “The Press” and the daily news, she said. The editor of “The Press,” Mr Binney Lock, said that he greatly regretted the ban and its effect on all readers, particularly the farming community. “I realise that many farmers and their families enjoy the celebration of their industry at the Canterbury show, and some depend upon the prominence given them because

of their achievements. “I wish the show every success but I must allow that the alternative to living with the ban would almost certainly be no publication of ‘The Press’ at all,” Mr Lock said. Protest action in other centres included a 48hour strike by journalists at the “Evening Post” in Wellington. Their colleagues at the “Dominion,” the New Zealand Press Association office in Wellington, the “Otago Daily Times,” and newspapers in Hawke’s Bay voted to take work breaks en masse, and union members at the Parliamentary press gallery have banned overtime. A number of newspapers including the Christchurch “Star” have been disrupted by extended stop-work meetings. Ms Mackay said that a national strike ballot would be held at the end of this week. If necessary, further action could be co-ordinated with other print unions.