A SMALLER, restructured RTÉ where flexibility and multiskilling are the norm will emerge after the current round of cutbacks in the organisation, director general Noel Curran has predicted.
Work practices and operating models in certain areas would have to change substantially and while new technology would help the process of change, ultimately RTÉ would only thrive if all staff were open to the changes necessary, Mr Curran has told staff.
Managers are to brief staff next week about the details of cuts in their departments as well as providing an update on RTÉ’s financial performance so far this year.
In a message sent to all staff yesterday, Mr Curran said managers would seek to be “frank and clear” about the changes but would not be able to answer every question. He said he also plans to meet staff to outline his three-year strategic vision for the organisation.
The severance package on offer would be the last to be based on salary levels before they were cut in 2009, he said. “Given the financial position RTÉ is in and the scale of the financial challenge ahead of us, we will simply not be in a position to afford such a package in the future.”
He also warned of his intention to introduce compulsory redeployment of staff, both between divisions and between areas of the country.
The challenge facing RTÉ was serious, Mr Curran said. In order to achieve financial stability next year and free up resources for necessary investments in training, technology and content, operating costs had to be reduced by a further €25 million.
“Given the extensive cost reductions we have already made in the past three years, I am fully aware that this will be very difficult and will require a huge effort from all staff.”
RTÉ management has already outlined to unions its plans for a four per cent across-the-board pay cut if the €25 million savings cannot be found within the organisation by the end of this year.
Other cost-cutting proposals include a reduction in RTÉ’s schedules, the scaling back of 2fm’s costs, the end of the automatic replacement for leave vacancies and compulsory redeployment.
Staff accepted pay cuts of between 2.6 per cent and 12.5 per cent in 2009 when the full extent of the recession hit. The broadcaster is seeking the equivalent of 200 redundancies, with the deadline for the scheme only two weeks away. It also plans to close its London office.
