Sweetheart deals, top-up payments, secrecy. This is no way to run a public broadcaster.
It’s insulting to the many ordinary workers in RTÉ who keep its services going. It’s a kick in the teeth to RTÉ’s relationship with the public and its own workforce.
Since the revelations of secret payments to Ryan Tubridy, a slew of RTÉ stars have admitted to earning six figure sums. There’s no suggestion of secret payments in their case – only Tubridy so far – but it raises questions about the inequality within RTÉ.
Many of the broadcaster’s workers are on low-pay. RTÉ has been found to be using precarious contracts. Last year it was made to pay money to staff that hadn’t received the proper benefits they were owed.
Not only that but workers and services within RTÉ have been made to swallow heavy cuts over recent years. They will feel particularly insulted at these reports.
Public broadcasting needs to be protected. We don’t want our media landscape to be dominated by billionaires. Scandals such as this undermine people’s trust in public broadcasting and makes it easier for those with an agenda to go on the attack.
The pay for RTÉ’s top figures should be properly capped. The culture of exorbitant pay alongside precarious contracts, low wages, and cuts must end. And RTÉ should be funded through progressive central taxation, and not a regressive flat-rate licence fee.
