Broadcast Australia: ABC cuts produce redundancies
The Abbott government’s cuts to the ABC will hit CWU members in Broadcast Australia.
Late last year, Broadcast Australia (BA) advised the CWU of changes to its contract with the ABC as a result of the ABC decision to reduce the number of its services. That decision was in turn made in response to cuts to the ABC budget – cuts Abbott had promised before the election wouldn’t happen!
The ABC will reduce the number of short wave services transmitted from Shepparton, Victoria, from 6 to 3 and have closed down the 2 radio services transmitted from Brandon, Queensland. As a result, a number of BA positions in the Radio Australia team are redundant.
The CWU met with Radio Australia on Friday 13 February to discuss options for the affected employees and the future operations of Broadcast Australia.
Negotiations are ongoing. Fundamentally, however, the CWU believes the federal government should restore funding for the relevant Radio Australia services which fulfil an important function in providing a voice for Australia in Asia and the Pacific.
