At 11am on Wednesday, more than 2,000 ABC employees went on strike for 24 hours. It's the first strike at the public broadcaster in 20 years, and was prompted by a breakdown in negotiations between the union and ABC management over pay and conditions.
Ahead of the strike, the ABC's Managing Director Hugh Marks issued a statement containing his arguments as to why he believes his offer to staff is fair and should be accepted. We've annotated and fact-checked his statement to see whether it holds up, or if staff had valid reasons to vote it down and ask for something better.
Our annotations are in brackets and in bold, alongside the original text.
ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks' Statement, 25 March 2006
As Managing Director of the ABC (So far, so good. He is the managing director of the ABC), I deeply regret the impact industrial action will have on our audiences.
I also understand that for many staff these events are difficult and distressing. An engaged and cohesive workforce is crucial to the future relevancy and success of the ABC.
In addition to the engagement of staff, my role also includes, as one of its key responsibilities, ensuring that the long-term interests of the ABC are paramount, recognising the importance of the institution to all Australians.
There is a lot of noise. Much of it is inaccurate. Some of it is misinformation. My commitment to staff at the ABC is that my communications will always be accurate and honest (Ok, so with something this declarative Marks is setting himself up to be fact-checked. A good start!). This is what our people deserve.
So, let’s talk facts (We'll be the judge of that).
Salary offer
The revised offer includes a pay increase of 3.5% in the first year, 3.25% in the subsequent two years, backpay to October 2025, as well as a $1000 bonus to be paid to all on-going and fixed-term staff covered by the EA.
With the $1000 bonus, this offer is equivalent to a 4.4% increase in the first year based on the average ABC Enterprise Agreement (EA) employee salary of $112,000 (This is the first bit of spin in the statement. The cash bonus offered to staff is real money, sure, but it isn't a baked-in salary increase, meaning future pay-rises don't compound on top of it. Suggesting it equates to a 4.4% increase is sneaky at best, misleading at worst).
