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More than 50 job roles in the air as ABC seeks to make Regional division more efficient

ABC Regional

The ABC is set to axe more than 50 roles amid a restructure of its Regional division aimed at making it more efficient by getting staff working across different platforms.

Mumbrella understands 55 roles – 42 regional content manager positions, seven regional content directors and six state editor positions – are being abolished under the plans, although ABC Regional director Fiona Reynolds insisted just 50 roles are being abolished, with 52 more being created.

The Community Public Sector Union (CPSU) and Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) will meet with management over the restructure this afternoon.

Changes have already been felt at ABC 1233 Newcastle, which was downgraded from a metropolitan to regional station last year and saw two senior managers replaced by one chief of staff last week, with other stations to be impacted in the coming weeks.

“There would be no net job losses as a result of the creation of ABC Regional, 52 new positions are being created for staff in the Regional division, replacing 50 former roles,” Reynolds said, although she did not rule out the possibility some staff will be made redundant in favour of new more digitally focused or cross media roles.

“Staff who are directly affected by roles that would no longer exist under the new structure will be given the opportunity to apply for the new roles, which will be advertised internally.  This process has been designed to keep the potential for redundancies to an absolute minimum.”

Screen Shot 2015-06-01 at 12.31.04 pmBoth the CPSU and MEAA declined to comment ahead of this afternoon’s meeting with management, but a leaked powerpoint presentation on the restructure, obtained by Mumbrella, shows the new structure will only have 36 chiefs of staff and four regional editors reporting to the head of regional content and director of ABC Regional.

It is understood that staff concerns around the restructure cover four main areas: the potential for job losses; the process involved in the potential job losses; the increased workload on those staff successful in applying for the new chief of staff positions; and the impact of the restructure on opportunities for advancement both within ABC Regional and also for those staff eventually wanting to more to metropolitan positions.

Many junior journalists wanting to enter the ABC often take regional positions with the hope of being promoted to a metropolitan position.

Reynolds argued that the new structure of chiefs of staff was more efficient within the modern multi-platform structure of the ABC.

“The Chief of Staff role under the proposed new structure would oversee the output of all local team members for that location,” she said.

“They would be editorial leaders who would ensure coverage is co-ordinated at a local level to stop situations where different team members in one office chase the same interview and multiple offices follow the same story. This only serves to duplicate effort instead of sharing content effectively.”

The ABC Regional restructure comes after last year’s budget cuts to the public broadcaster which saw hundreds of jobs go, a process labelled “the Hunger Games” and “shark pools” by some staff, although the ABC insists this process is not related to those cuts.

Some ABC staff have also been critical of the restructure process and potential for redundancies, with one insider telling Mumbrella: “The ABC is trying to have its cake and eat it too.

“What they are trying to do is cherry pick who they want and if who they want doesn’t work out then they don’t want to be in a situation where they are offering redundancies to anybody.

“So they are keeping people dangling until the last minute and then they will let them go. That is absolutely what they are doing.”

ABC Regional boss Reynolds defended the ABC process but acknowledged some concern among staff.

“I understand some staff are concerned because not everyone finds change easy,” she said: “But most are excited.

“I have received quite a lot of calls and emails from team members saying things like ‘I believe your proposal will bring about the right changes and foster cohesion within teams. With the right people in key positions, it will be just what the regs need’ and ‘I can see there are opportunities in this for me’, including those whose roles are directly affected.”

Nic Christensen 

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