Outrageous waste of money at RTE

[anewbeginning]

This article is a couple months old, but I am surprised more hasn't been made of it, but it's still current imo.

RTE will ask top stars to take pay cut - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Up until a few months ago, RTE staff were able to charge taxi fares to the broadcaster, I am presuming the high paid presenters, execs, etc were able to do this.

They also recieved free coffee and newspapers, all paid for by the taxpayer...tell me what private company that happens in?

Joe Duffy gets paid over 350,000 for presenting a show which is approx 1 hour in length a day or less if you dont include ad breaks and news breaks.

That's 1 hour a day broadcasting and paid 350,000. This not to mention the long summer holidays.

Eamon Dunphy equally broadcasts for about on average 2 hours a week for RTE and gets paid over 300,000.

RTE raped the licence payers and taxpayers for years during the supposed good times.

Oh and Marianne Finucane gets paid 455,000 for her couple of hours weekend show on the radio...wtf?

€850,000 Kenny airs tax woe after salary cut call - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

[Factorem]

Kenny's and Tubridy's days are numbered AFAIC.

Nobody wants to see Kenny, never mind listen to his feigned concern for people who find themselves adrift in these recessionary times.

Ryan Tubridy thinks it's all one big joke.

[Arabella]

its disgraceful that license fees are expected to contribute to this level of nonsense but considering the amount of advertising revenue those guys pull in i can't see RTE management having the balls to rock the boat too much...

[Ah Well]

Kenny's and Tubridy's days are numbered AFAIC.

Nobody wants to see Kenny, never mind listen to his feigned concern for people who find themselves adrift in these recessionary times.

Ryan Tubridy thinks it's all one big joke.

I wouldn't agree .... Tubridy is the maid in waiting for Kenny's slot.... provided of course RTE still exists when this shalt come to pass

[slx]

Well, what you have to remember is that RTE spun out of P&T back in the early 1960s, and I strongly suspect that P&T era management practices still exist.

From what I've heard, despite all the money, they still manage to starve their front line programme staff of resources, even if headliners like Kenny etc are well paid, many non-celebs are on ultra-short contracts, have no tenure etc

I'd suspect there's a layer upon layer of administration and management and money being slashed away by the 'suits'.

It also seems to slash money on 'the arts', when it's supposedly a broadcaster. If 'the arts' need funding, shouldn't they be looking for it from the Arts Council, not wasting license fees on non-broadcast related activities i.e. their orchestras and other performing groups!

[Ah Well]

Only one thing for it ..... DONT pay yer Licence

[Culann]

Ryan Tubridy thinks it's all one big joke.

Ryan Tubridy is one big joke!

[oscartango]

I nearly spilt the ould cornflakes today when I heard on Morning Ireland that RTE provides a chauffeur-driven car for Eamonn Dunphy !!!


RTÉ staff face pay cuts as advertising revenue falls

OLIVIA KELLY

RTÉ STAFF are set to face pay cuts following the announcement by director general Cathal Goan that the broadcaster is facing a €68 million shortfall in advertising revenues for 2009. In a letter to staff yesterday Mr Goan said €10 million in savings must come from “personnel-related” operating costs.

The level of pay cuts has yet to be determined. However, a spokesman for RTÉ said the cuts would be based on the graduated scale of earnings, with the higher paid taking a larger percentage cut.

It had not yet been decided whether high-profile presenters, such as Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy and Gerry Ryan, who were asked to take a 10 per cent cut in earnings earlier this year, would be asked to take further cuts, the spokesman said.

“That hasn’t arisen yet. Only if the highest earners were asked to take a cut of more than 10 per cent, then that issue would arise,” he said.

RTÉ last October announced cutbacks of €27 million including a pay freeze, a freeze on all bonuses, the non-replacement of staff and the curtailment of foreign travel. These reductions were already being implemented.

In his letter, Mr Goan said the situation had deteriorated very significantly since then, and the station now needed to take “radical action” to save a further €41 million to cope with the “enormous drop” in advertising revenues.

In addition to pay cuts, the station is considering a reduction of freelance rates, a reduction in overtime rates and no productivity payments for work practice changes.

These steps were absolutely necessary, Mr Goan said, but the burden would be fairly distributed.

“None of the options are pleasant, but we must all work together to deliver the most appropriate actions – and we are still bearing in mind the two key principles,” he said.

These were: “Maintaining RTÉs programming output as much as possible – and therefore our competitive edge” and “protecting employment to the greatest extent possible”.

His letter also said that RTÉ would welcome any other initiatives which staff may wish to suggest and would undertake to consider them fully.

The proposed cuts were put to the RTÉ Trade Union Group on Wednesday.

The group said the proposals presented to it by RTÉ would be the subject of intensive discussions over the next two weeks. In a statement, the union group executive said it made clear to RTÉ that any proposed changes to existing agreements would be handled through the normal industrial relations processes.

Its priority in any discussions would be the protection of jobs in RTÉ, the group said.

It is due to meet RTÉ management again in two weeks’ time, when the levels of cuts are likely to be known.

RTÉ staff face pay cuts as advertising revenue falls - The Irish Times - Fri, Mar 06, 2009

[New_Economic_Agenda]

10% pay cut from what? extraordinary salaries - hundreds of thousands- these people do not deserve that kind of money
the quality of the material they produce is simply not good enough

[oscartango]

Is it just me or does anyone else think it's outrageous that someone sitting at a mic taking phone calls from the public gets paid more than the Taoiseach ?