“While we will be looking across all parts of the newsroom, at the end of the redundancy program we expect there will be significantly fewer editorial management, video, presentation and section-writer roles.”
In response, Fairfax journos at major mastheads including The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald have voted to walk off the job for seven days, which will mean both publications will still be on strike when the Federal Budget is delivered next Tuesday night.
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 and Age staff walk out of Parliament House press gallery after voting to go on strike for 7 days. pic.twitter.com/777KkuTZkS
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) May 3, 2017
Out they go #FairGoFairfax pic.twitter.com/GCgmt2SJga
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) May 3, 2017
We’re getting ready to walk out #united #together #insolidarity. Save jobs #savethesmh #fairgofairfax pic.twitter.com/UGxx512OOd
— Esther Han (@EstherHjHan) May 3, 2017
Fairfax journo at Bell/Landry case whispers to person sitting next to her “we are on strike”, then stands and excuses herself from the court
— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) May 3, 2017
About 100 Fairfax stuff have just filled out of the newsroom onto the front steps all holding chopped and torn up papers #FairGoFairfax pic.twitter.com/ArB3y4j4ny
— Joshua Dawe (@joshuadawe2) May 3, 2017
The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance was particularly furious at the company’s decision today, given that it happens to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.
“MEAA is appalled at the decision of Fairfax Media management to cut 125 full-time equivalent positions, or 25 per cent of its journalists, from its metropolitan newspapers.
The decision indicates that, yet again, Fairfax is opting for savage cuts that will only weaken its business further rather than investing in its products and working to achieve smarter outcomes.”
Meanwhile MEAA CEO Paul Murphy continued the blast by withering Fairfax bosses for constantly cutting frontline media staff, despite being a frontline media business.
“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. This will only undermine and damage its mastheads further, alienating its audience and leaving the editorial staff that remain having to work harder and harder to fill the gaps. This is a dumb decision.”
This is the second time in 14 months Fairfax staff have walked off the job in response to job cuts. In March 2016 staff went on strike for a weekend after company bosses announced a round of job cuts that saw 120 jobs slashed from the newsroom.
