TVNZ workers win in Employment Court – ETu

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating another victory today, with the Employment Court upholding the original decision of the Employment Relations Authority, accepting that the company has breached the collective agreement.

In a clear decision, the judge has confirmed that TVNZ broke its own agreement with staff, that it did not act sufficiently when this issue was raised by E tū, and that the collective agreement guarantees members the right to be properly involved in developing change proposals, rather than just responding to them.

To ensure that the collective agreement is now complied with, the Court has issued a compliance order which forces TVNZ to follow its agreement with staff. This means affected workers have had their employment extended by a further four weeks.

“It is deeply embarrassing that TVNZ management need to have a court ordered process to force them to follow their own agreement with staff,” says Michael Wood, E tū Negotiation Specialist.

“In recent months, the company has alienated huge numbers of loyal viewers by axing important and popular current affairs shows, done enormous damage to staff morale, and spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal and other costs as a result of a botched employment process.

“TVNZ is a Crown Entity with a statutory requirement to be a good employer, something that the judge commented on. TVNZ has not acted as a good employer and this will likely not be lost on the TVNZ Board and their Minister.

“It is time for TVNZ to seriously engage with their staff and unions to resolve this issue. From the outset, E tū members have been ready to sit down with the company and share their knowledge about how to build a sustainable future for TVNZ, rather than being dictated to.

“TVNZ faces major strategic challenges and with this significant legal loss on their table it is time for TVNZ to finally realise it needs to change course and come to the table with E tū members.

“This win for E tū members shows the value of workers belonging to a union so that they can have a voice during difficult times. We encourage everyone, in the media and beyond, to join their union.”