NUJ alarmed at breach of trust over RTÉ payments to Ryan Tubridy
The NUJ has condemned as a grave breach of trust the secret nature of payments negotiated by an agent on behalf of Ryan Tubridy with RTÉ.
The undisclosed payments were revealed in a statement by the chairperson of the Board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, in a staff briefing issued on 22 June.
Séamus Dooley, Irish secretary, speaking after a meeting of the officers and officials of the RTÉ Trade Union Group, said;
“These revelations have shocked and dismayed NUJ members and staff throughout the organisation. RTÉ, as a public service broadcaster, has built a strong reputation for trust, the cornerstone of any media organisation. The secret nature of the payments is a breach of trust unparalleled in the history of RTÉ. It is a betrayal of the workers and has long term consequences for the relationship between RTÉ and its employees. It must be remembered that when these secret payments were being negotiated with a third party, RTÉ and the Trade Union Group were engaged in negotiations on pay for their members. The Trade Union Group commissioned an external financial consultant to carry out an independent analysis of the finances. It is now clear that while RTÉ offered to ‘open the books’, not all financial information was available to the consultant or the Trade Union Group.
"The overpayment to Ryan Tubridy is the equivalent of the salary of a journalist in RTÉ. At a time when trade unions are forced to engage in protracted negotiations over even minor payments, these revelations come as a particular shock. Most staff in RTÉ are on relatively modest salaries and the extravagant nature of these payments do not reflect the renumeration of the vast majority of RTÉ employees.
"While the RTÉ board acted with haste when these irregularities were highlighted, there are profound questions to be answered by the director general, the Executive Board and the Board itself in relation to corporate governance. The NUJ will be considering our position and formulating a more detailed response when we have done so. The union has long expressed serious reservations about commercial arrangements and the use of third parties to negotiate remuneration packages. We welcome the ongoing investigation by Grant Thornton and support the call by the Trade Union Group for a swift and transparent process of investigation."