Fairfax Media journalists walk off job for week in response to cuts
Fairfax Media’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age journalists have voted to go on an immediate strike for the next week in response to this morning’s job cuts announcements.
The action, which has seen most journalists walk out in Sydney and Melbourne, follows the company this morning unveiling details of a restructure which will see 125 full-time editorial jobs axed.
The strike brings into question the ability of the company to publish its newspapers in the coming days. It is also likely to be in breach of industrial relations legislation around the notice required for a staff walkout.
The strike will impact on Fairfax Media’s coverage of the Federal Government Budget release next Tuesday evening.
Mumbrella understands this was the intent of the strike, with Fairfax journalists keen to remind the public of the value of its journalism and the value of its political coverage.
BREAKING: Sydney Morning Herald journalists vote to strike for a full week in response to job cuts
— Bevan Shields (@BevanShields) May 3, 2017
Staff have been given a deadline of next Tuesday, May 9 to nominate for a voluntary redundancy.
News just in: Fairfax Media staff are out. @theage & @smh strike for 7 days. Will reconvene in 72 hrs #FairgoFairfax pic.twitter.com/8YJChqsuQ1
— Bridie Smith (@BridieSmith) May 3, 2017
.@smh journos prepare to walk out.. #fairgofairfax #savethesmh pic.twitter.com/pn972ucXzR
— Lucy Cormack (@LucyCormack) May 3, 2017
Fairfax Media staff went on strike in March last year, protesting planned job cuts across news and business in its Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms which would see the equivalent of 12.5% of newsroom positions axed.
A Fairfax Media spokesperson said: “We are disappointed in the decision by some of our masthead journalists to take unprotected industrial action for seven days after a month-long consultation period about necessary changes in our Metro Media business. But it is not the first time we have had industrial action. As in the previous episodes, we will continue to publish across print and digital as usual.”
Journalists’ union the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance issued the following statement:
In stop-work meetings today, Fairfax editorial staff voted to take industrial action for seven days.
Staff are disgusted at the company’s decision to cut 25 per cent of its journalists as part of $30 million in cost savings. The decision means that 125 full-time equivalent positions will be lost.
The cuts are so deep that the Fairfax mastheads will have to dramatically reduce their reporting of significant areas of Australian life.
MEAA CEO Paul Murphy said: “In doing so, the company will be failing its audiences and leaving the journalists who remain behind having to work harder and harder to plug the gaps.”
In resolutions passed at the meetings, the editorial staff:
• rejected the cuts proposed by the company,
• will not accept any forced redundancies,
• want any voluntary rounds to be open for at least three weeks (as opposed to the company’s one week), and
• want senior management to take a 25 per cent pay cut.
Murphy said: “None of the other parts of the Fairfax business are worth anything without the journalism and yet it is the journalism that Fairfax always cuts. The editorial staff are really angry. They think the company has made a terrible decision that is not in the best interests of the company, its audience or its staff.”
Fairfax Media management have condemned the strike as “unlawful industrial action”.
In an email to staff signed by Chris Janz and Sean Alymer, staff were reminded that under the Fairfax Media – Metropolitan Journalists Enterprise Agreement 2016 the strike is unlawful.
“The company is required to deduct employees’ pay for the duration of the industrial action, with a minimum deduction of four hours’ pay,” the email said.
“In addition, the company may consider taking disciplinary action against those employees who participate in any unlawful industrial action, which may include termination of employment. In this regard, there is no distinction between participating in unlawful industrial action and simply not attending for work without a proper reason. We consider both examples to be an unauthorised absence, damaging to your mastheads and a breach of your legal duties to the company.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has asked for details of the unlawful action. The FWO has indicated to the company that it is monitoring the situation and has noted its investigation of the unlawful action last year.”
The email in full:
Dear All
We are aware that following authorised stop work meetings this afternoon, some editorial staff in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Brisbane have taken industrial action by not returning to work. This is unlawful industrial action.
In the event of continued unlawful industrial action, we want to make the company’s position very clear.
Any industrial action during the nominal term of the Fairfax Media – Metropolitan Journalists Enterprise Agreement 2016 (i.e. until 30 June 2018) is unlawful.
The company is required to deduct employees’ pay for the duration of the industrial action, with a minimum deduction of four hours’ pay.
In addition, the company may consider taking disciplinary action against those employees who participate in any unlawful industrial action, which may include termination of employment. In this regard, there is no distinction between participating in unlawful industrial action and simply not attending for work without a proper reason. We consider both examples to be an unauthorised absence, damaging to your mastheads and a breach of your legal duties to the company.
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has asked for details of the unlawful action. The FWO has indicated to the company that it is monitoring the situation and has noted its investigation of the unlawful action last year.
The FWO has powers to investigate unlawful industrial action, and to prosecute individuals and unions involved in any contraventions, including to seek the imposition of penalties.
Individual employees are free not to participate in industrial action. Irrespective of whether or not you are in an exempt position under the enterprise agreement, you can choose to continue to work during industrial action. Employees should not feel intimidated or pressured into taking illegal industrial action.
We have responsibilities to our audience across print and digital platforms. We are committed to meeting these responsibilities and expect all of our employees to be as well.
As you know this is not the first time we have dealt with this. We will continue to publish across print and digital as usual.
Chris Janz
Sean Aylmer Managing Director
Editorial Director Australian Metro Publishing Australian Metro Publishing
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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I don’t understand the point in striking, especially for a week. Management gets to save money while monitoring how the newsroom goes with even fewer staff. The end result is that the paper sales and website traffic don’t fall too far. If management don’t care about quality journalism, they’re hardly going to care about a one-week strike.
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Fairfax are not the only print business to suffer because of digital, but few companies have failed on such an epic scale to understand the value of their audience, brands or content and how to monetise in the digital age.
The arrogance and naivety of their senior management and ad sales directors over the years has been staggering. Many of which bizarrely now hold senior positions in digital companies (Nine, Yahoo etc). Only in Australia.
I genuinely believe almost all in the media/advertising industry want Fairfax to be successful. We long for a homegrown and credible source of journalism to run premium campaigns, but they have let advertisers down so often it is no surprise that ad spend never migrated to digital.
It’s fitting that they announce these changes a few days after the NY Times launches an Oz edition.
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Nice placement of a News Corp banner ad next to this story #Solidarity
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Todd can sort it out
‘People product profit. In that order’.
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“Few companies have failed on such an epic scale to understand the value of their audience, brands or content and how to monetise in the digital age.”
AMEN.
Useless management, and the only employees actually producing anything of value are the ones thrown out.
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If the place is anything like News Corp it’s not the journalists who are the issue – rather the zero contributing procession of “sales improvement/channel manager” types who stay for a while, attend a lot of meetings, contribute nothing that makes the joint any money, before they’re replaced, and the cycle starts again.
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The union is only involved to get their name in the headlines. It didnt care about its members when fairfax community newspapers went through 2 editorial restructures within 2 years which led to many redundacies.
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And no doubt management has spun the line that “quality won’t suffer”. How the hell can Fairfax expect to produce quality when they are axing even more journos? Resources are already stretched to max. Why does editorial have to bear the brunt of these cuts? It’s an absolute travesty and disgrace. There is no point in a one or two day strike, management will just pull in exempt staff from everywhere else, but a week will stretch them, especially budget week. Good luck guys, though can assure you there is life after Fairfax!
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This new bloke Mr Chris Janz seems to be following the same old ways of fairfax mismanagement.
Who cares what new tech you use if you have destroyed the heart and soul of the SMH and The Age.
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Fairfax management has survived entirely by spin for years. Hywood in particular is like Trump: he expects you to forget whatever he last did or said and accept the latest tissue. the job pays well, but he should have no expectations of a future life filled with admirers.
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When Hywood and his apologists come out with the usual spin and assertions above the task and their commitment to the quality I’d suggest that people ask why the SMH must fail where the New York Times has succeeded – with strong editorial content leading the commercial improvement. And don’t say it’s all about global brand. Because the data does not say so.
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Many people have expressed anger at Fairfax via Facebook. On the very platform that has wiped diversity in advertising and is responsible for so much revenue leaving publishers. Stunning really.
The great thing news limited have done is highlight the devastation google and Facebook have wreaked on funding for Journalism. They’ve also put out a campaign around supporting brand safe environments.
Two American companies, not paying anywhere near their fair share of company tax in this country, quiet today as Australian jobs are lost.
How about the media buyers take a good hard look at themselves and ask themselves why they continue to be conned.
And full credit to the intelligent marketers who advertise where they can really reach the quality audiences. They are the ones supporting journalism at the end of the day.
Anyone posting on Facebook about this issue is a full scale hypocrite.
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Well well Chris Janz.
First move – tell the journalists you’re here to save quality journalism.
Second move – Stand behind Sean Aylmer as he delivers Hywood’s news to cut 120 journalists.
Welcome to the big smoke. Not quite Pop
Sugar anymore.
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How is striking going to replace the revenue that used to be there to pay the wages? It is gone and it is never coming back. Maybe go and picket outside Google, Facebook and the advertisers.
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James said:
“Management gets to save money while monitoring how the newsroom goes with even fewer staff. The end result is that the paper sales and website traffic don’t fall too far.”
That’s not quite how it works.
Past strikes show that website traffic very quickly falls off a cliff.
Fairfax readers have by now been conditioned to expect a steady flow of updates throughout the day.
While the scab workforce can get out an (inferior) paper every day, there’s simply not enough of them to keep the websites fresh.
For example, let’s imagine a major organised crime figure is bailed – that’s something where a court reporter needs to be on the spot if it is going to be turned around and published quickly.
There are dozens of other scenarios where an office-bound management workforce is not going to be able to cut it.
Let’s hope management ARE monitoring what happens and learn from it.
Sadly, past experience also indicates that’s unlikely.
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As a Fairfax employee it wasn’t only Editorial that has been affected. Weeks prior all the other sectors of the business had their share of redundancies and cuts.
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Facebook just announced their results –
Posts Q1 revenue of $8.03B – up 49% YoY
This is where advertisers (a lot of you reading this) now put their money. These platforms (google and FB) have destroyed large chunks of publisher revenue. So don’t be angry at Fairfax or News Limited.
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How can australians obtain a diverse source of information with these cuts. Fairfax is the only mainstream media platform that can provide a counter to the biased rubbish that is published by the Murdoch press. Please reverse these cuts and recognise the value of your journalists!
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The effect of this new platform is more than just jobs cut at fairfax media. It has larger effect on jobs loss if you count the distribution and retail – the newsagents. How many have closed in the past few years? Probably more than the announced jobs cut at Fairfax. Well, they are small individually, and will not make into the news. Also, mostly family run, hence “unable to strike”.
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We are probably seeing the demise of the empire. The irony is that Fairfax management are dismantling the product that has been held in high esteem by thinking Australians; their journalism and replacing it with a flawed online advertising model and flawed partnership with Google in marketing, both of which still require quality journalism to work. To publicly state an intention to move to the right editorially only further degrades the product.
As a recently resigned regional ad rep I am starting to believe that for informed journalusm to survive then community based publucations need to be establushed to fill the void now being left by an inept Fairfax management.
I stand with these journalists.
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Fairfax and Newscorp have both entered Premium Partner agreements with Google to sell their products as basically commission agents. For a percentage of the sale they are only increasing Google’s octopus like grip on ad revenue.
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