RTÉ’s director general, Kevin Bakhurst, will address a large meeting of staff this week as confusion remains as to how at least 100 people are to be made redundant from the organisation by the end of the year.
When he announced the redundancy programme earlier this year, Mr Bakhurst said applicants would be informed of a ‘final decision’ in the first week of September.
Last Monday, an undisclosed number of employees received offers of redundancy under the Voluntary Exit Programme
(VEP). However, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned that an apparently large number of the 325 employees who expressed an interest in the scheme received letters telling them their applications were still under review.
Another smaller group of people were told their applications were unsuccessful. One RTÉ employee said it was ‘like waiting for the second round of the CAO (college application) offers’. They told the MoS: ‘We’re still in the dark, really. We’re waiting to see on Wednesday how the numbers will exit by December.
It’s going to be tight. ‘What I can say is… I don’t know a single person in news and current affairs who was offered the redundancy package.’
This view was backed up by another employee who told the MoS: ‘I haven’t heard of anyone in the newsroom; no journalist
or presenter being given the package. ‘I think it signals what Bakhurst said [earlier this year], that they want to keep strong
news and sports units going.
But they’ll be farming out everything else.’ After making a first round of redundancy offers this week, Mr Bakhurst sent an email to staff saying the broadcaster remained on course to cut more than 100 jobs this year.
It read: ‘While we have made a significant number of approvals in the first round of reviews, it has not been possible to accommodate all applications under the terms of the VEP 2025. ‘Where applications have been approved, successful applicants will be issued with a formal offer letter and supporting documentation in the coming days...They will then have one week
from the date of a meeting with the tax expert (which RTÉ will help set up) to accept or decline the VEP offer from RTÉ.’
Mr Bakhurst went on to state: ‘Where applications have not been approved by RTÉ, applicants have been asked to note that applications were reviewed in line with the approval criteria set out by the department. ‘In these cases, it was felt the
roles could not be suppressed at this time, and therefore, an exit under the VEP could not be facilitated.
‘There are also a number of cases where the review process has not yet concluded and requires further consideration. ‘In certain cases, approval will be dependent on the level of acceptance of offers made this week. So further reviews of applications will take place in the coming weeks as we receive responses and continue to explore ways to facilitate additional exits under the VEP this year.’
Mr Bakhurst concluded by saying he will ‘outline next steps’ at a Town Hall meeting this Wednesday. The voluntary exit scheme, under which payouts would be capped at €300,000, is expected to run over three years as the broadcaster seeks to reduce its staff numbers by 400.
Terms on offer for redundancy vary from four weeks’ pay per year of service for people employed by RTÉ for two to five years nd up to six weeks for those with more than ten years of service.
The Government approved the redundancy plan in March after it signed off on a €725m three-year bailout for the broadcaster, which has been rocked by a series of financial scandals last year.
In response to queries, an RTÉ spokesman said, ‘further reviews of applications will take place in the coming weeks as RTÉ receives responses and continues to explore ways to facilitate additional exits under the VEP this year’.
He added: ‘RTÉ is focused on delivering in excess of 100 exits from the organisation in 2025 but will not be providing details on applications while the process is ongoing ‘As previously confirmed, exits will take place at the end of October, November and December this year.
‘Details will be confirmed once the VEP 2025 process has concluded.’
