Category: Communications

E tū, the union representing TVNZ workers, is raising significant concerns over the broadcaster’s proposed sweeping changes, which could reshape not just TVNZ, but Aotearoa New Zealand’s wider media landscape.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, has called for full and meaningful engagement as these proposals are considered, emphasising the potential risks to both TVNZ and the country’s media ecosystem.

“The scale of change being proposed here is enormous,” Michael says.

“This is not just a transformation within TVNZ, but one that could have far-reaching consequences for the entire media sector. These changes must be worked through with great care, and E tū and its members will accept nothing less than genuine engagement from all parties involved.”

While E tū acknowledges the necessity of shifting towards a digital future, the union is deeply concerned about the potential loss of TVNZ’s core strengths, particularly its skilled staff and capacity to deliver in-depth, quality journalism.

“We support the move towards a more digital service, but this must be done in a way that preserves the essence of what makes TVNZ valuable. It’s crucial to safeguard the ability to investigate and report on the stories that matter.

“Cutting back on text-based content while simultaneously removing successful video programmes like Fair Go and Sunday raises serious questions about the direction of these changes. If TVNZ is serious about a video-first strategy, they need to invest – not simply slash resources.”

A key concern is the proposal to outsource jobs, potentially overseas.

“Outsourcing jobs threatens TVNZ’s most important asset – skilled, experienced staff, with deep institutional knowledge. Outsourcing not only risks losing these skills but can lead to higher costs and a weaker organisation. We’ve seen this play out in other sectors, and it’s not a path we should go down.”

E tū is also questioning the Government’s role in pressuring TVNZ to deliver a dividend during such a pivotal moment for the organisation.

“It’s difficult to understand why the Government would maintain pressure for a dividend in this environment. TVNZ is undergoing major upheaval, and it would be wise for the Government to reconsider its expectations while these significant changes are being negotiated.”

E tū members will hold a union meeting on Thursday to fully discuss the proposals and decide the next steps.

E tū represents working journalists in Aotearoa New Zealand wanting a meaningful say over how generative artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the industry.  

AI can’t tell a fact from a lie. It can even create its own lie and amplify it. We accept AI is here, but media outlets must cooperate with their workers in how it is used and developed.    

• Priority should always be given to real journalists and human sources in telling our stories.   
• AI cannot replace the brain and integrity of a reporter, storyteller, producer, technician, or broadcaster doing what they’re great at. Media companies must respect the rights of content creators and their sources.  
• Journalists should be at the forefront of understanding the opportunities and limitations of using AI in a way that supports newsrooms and public trust in the media.  
• Māori journalists should be fully engaged in any development and use of AI to ensure Te Tiriti principles, te reo Maori and Māori representation in Aotearoa’s newsrooms are advanced.  
• The languages from which AI learns include little Māori or indigenous content. AI tools typically generate content using a hegemonic lens which is unrepresentative of our diverse society.  
• AI is good for some things but potentially disastrous for others. Commercial considerations for the development and deployment of AI must be balanced by the fundamental importance of truth and integrity in storytelling.  

E tū media members are seeking to develop sector-wide guidelines for the deployment of AI in New Zealand journalism.  

We will be asking key stakeholders to join a working group for this purpose and we believe the Government has a role to play in protecting journalism for the public good.  

This work is urgent in the face of AI being rolled out in ways that are already changing our stories.  

This is part of a worldwide push by journalists to have meaningful engagement over AI through the work of the International Journalists Federation, as illustrated by the Paris Charter developed by Reporters Without Borders, and initiatives of the Australian Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.  

Workers at TVNZ have today been notified about an upcoming change process at TVNZ which union members are worried could lead to further job losses as the state-owned broadcaster.

Management have initiated this process with the claim they need to increase their annual earnings by $30m, by either increasing revenue or reducing costs.

Earlier this year, TVNZ cancelled significant news and current affairs offerings as a cost-saving measure. E tū Negotiation Specialist Michael wood says today’s development demonstrates a worrying trend at TVNZ.

“E tū members at TVNZ and across media have been campaigning hard to ‘Save our Stories’ so that New Zealanders continue to have access to media that informs and holds power to account,” Michael says.

“As such we are concerned that TVNZ is looking into further significant changes that could lead to even larger cuts than we have already seen.

“The good news is that because union members at TVNZ have successfully campaigned on this issue, and defended their rights in the Employment Court, that there is now a proper process in place to have union members at the table and involved in discussion about possible change at a much earlier stage.

“We will be taking this process seriously. An ongoing move towards a digital future at TVNZ is a reality, however we will fight hard to ensure that as this change happens, that TVNZ fulfils its obligations to New Zealanders by ensuring that it produces high quality content, produced by skilled and experienced media workers. TVNZ, and the Government as the sole shareholder, cannot and must not use this process to walk away from news and current affairs, and telling the stories that matter to New Zealand.”

Michael says that further cuts at TVNZ demonstrate the need for rapid Government intervention to save our media landscape.

“Decent journalism is an absolute necessity in a well-functioning democracy. That’s why TVNZ needs to be supported as a public broadcaster.

“It makes no sense to allow such a crucial tool for information and accountability to gradually wither away as the traditional commercial model for media becomes less financially sustainable in the digital age.

“TVNZ, and the wider media landscape, must be supported by the Government to thrive – and we should all be gravely concerned about a future where purely commercial interests dictate the way we conduct our public discourse.”

Journalists at NZME’s regional and community newspapers in the North Island are seeking support from their local communities as they face the loss of more than 11 full time equivalent jobs from newsrooms across the North Island.

Titles like the Northern Advocate, Hawkes Bay Today, Bay of Plenty Times, Rotorua Daily Post, the Whanganui Chronicle, and other community papers will all be hit by cuts to journalists and the removal of all photo-journalists, if the proposal goes ahead.

The proposal includes cutting out all regional photographers, which Northern Advocate photographer Michael Cunningham said would be the end of an important era.

“The job was more than just taking photos, it was documenting Northland’s history, and also becoming the custodian of nearly 150 years of photographic history in Northland.”

Michael has been a photographer at the paper for 32 years and said the highlight of his work is the thanks he gets from the community.

“It’s probably the joy that you get from members of the community who are so happy that you’ve come to cover their event. It could be anything from the local bridge club to a future All Black.”

Photographs and video are an important part of telling these stories, and hugely important to any media organisation, Michael says.

“I believe that the stories and photos that the Northern Advocate has covered over these years have genuinely made lives better for a lot of people in the Northland community.”

Northern Advocate journalist Denise Piper said it is local communities who will miss out on coverage if the proposal goes ahead.

“Our job is all about holding the powers-that-be to account and giving a voice to the region’s most vulnerable, including patients, local businesses and environmental champions.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist Michael Wood says NZME must not underestimate the importance of regional news.

“The media are the vital connections between groups and individuals, from local sports groups to community culture, to emergency services organisations,” Michael says.

“Recent history with emergencies and disasters has shown exactly how important it is to have good reporting on the ground in all our communities. Reducing the capacity for local storytelling would harm how communities respond to these events.

“It will be little comfort for these regions that NZME claims this is not a cost cutting exercise but will free up resources for investing in four new reporting jobs in Wellington, Christchurch, and business coverage.

“We’re calling on the affected local communities to join our call to save these important roles. NZME needs to hear from local leaders and groups just how important it is to have strong local media.”

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating another victory today, with the Employment Court upholding the original decision of the Employment Relations Authority, accepting that the company has breached the collective agreement.

In a clear decision, the judge has confirmed that TVNZ broke its own agreement with staff, that it did not act sufficiently when this issue was raised by E tū, and that the collective agreement guarantees members the right to be properly involved in developing change proposals, rather than just responding to them.

To ensure that the collective agreement is now complied with, the Court has issued a compliance order which forces TVNZ to follow its agreement with staff.

“It is deeply embarrassing that TVNZ management need to have a court ordered process to force them to follow their own agreement with staff,” says Michael Wood, E tū Negotiation Specialist.

“In recent months, the company has alienated huge numbers of loyal viewers by axing important and popular current affairs show, done enormous damage to staff morale, and spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal and other costs as a result of a botched employment process.

“TVNZ is a Crown Entity with a statutory requirement to be a good employer, something that the judge commented on. TVNZ has not acted as a good employer and this will likely not be lost on the TVNZ Board and their Minister.

“It is time for TVNZ to seriously engage with their staff and unions to resolve this issue. From the outset, E tū members have been ready to sit down with the company and share their knowledge about how to build a sustainable future for TVNZ, rather than being dictated to.

“TVNZ faces major strategic challenges and with this significant legal loss on their table it is time for TVNZ to finally realise it needs to change course and come to the table with E tū members.

“This win for E tū members shows the value of workers belonging to a union so that they can have a voice during difficult times. We encourage everyone, in the media and beyond, to join their union.”

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating a significant win, with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruling that the company breached their collective agreement in its recent process to dis-establish prominent shows and make large numbers of staff redundant.

The determination agreed with E tū’s position that TVNZ did not comply with Clause 10 of the collective agreement, which requires a high level of staff involvement throughout change processes, an attempt to agree, and meaningful involvement in the development of proposals.

TVNZ members did not get that opportunity. The ERA has now directed that E tū and TVNZ will go to mediation to find a mutually agreeable outcome, and that failing this TVNZ will be directed to comply with the collective agreement. Redundancies will be paused until the matter is resolved.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, says this is a huge win.

“We are really happy, but not surprised, that the Authority reached the same conclusion as us – that the process was a clear breach of the collective agreement,” Michael says.

“We negotiated for members to have meaningful input into change processes because the workers are the experts, and had TVNZ honoured the collective agreement from the beginning, we may well have reached a much more favourable option for everyone.

“Instead, we’ve had to endure this messy and incomplete consultation process, and the company has already steamed ahead with their plans to cancel our important news and current affairs shows.

“The determination demonstrates that TVNZ management seriously underestimated the extent to which they needed to engage with their employees to find a way forward in these difficult times for the company. They need to engage much more fully – and that requirement is for the benefit of viewers, and the public as a broad stakeholder, as well as for workers at TVNZ. Workers and stakeholders all deserve much better.

“We aren’t going to predetermine the outcome of our mediation, but we are hoping that TVNZ management will finally get the message that they can’t take their workers for granted in these processes.”

E tū has filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority against TVNZ, as the company did not follow their consultation requirements that are guaranteed for workers in their collective agreement.

The filing comes as TVNZ makes formal announcements about the fate of major parts of their news and current affairs offering, including Fair Go, Sunday, Re: News, and the Midday and Tonight bulletins.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, says it’s vital TVNZ follow the correct processes through such significant changes.

“It’s crystal clear in the TVNZ collective agreement that workers must be involved in developing proposals like this, not just asked for their views at the end of the process,” Michael says.

“The requirement is that union members must be involved in the developmental stages of decision-making processes and in the business planning of the organisation. The fact is, members simply weren’t given the opportunity to engage with the design of TVNZ’s plan until the proposal was presented.

“It is vital that workers are involved all the way through – not just because it’s their right, but because they have valuable insights that would have helped TVNZ to develop a better proposal.”

Michael says the short consultation process has already shown the value of member participation.

“Even just within the flawed process we’ve seen to date, workers have convinced TVNZ to introduce a new team for long-form consumer and current affairs reporting. That’s a win and reinforces that a proper process could have led to much better outcomes.

“There has been a massive outpouring of support for TVNZ’s workers and the vital content they create. The community supports robust news and current affairs to tell Aotearoa’s stories and hold power to account. This is all the more important given we’ve also learned today the plan to take Newshub off air is going ahead.

“We reiterate our call for TVNZ to go back to the drawing board and work properly with their staff to shape a way forward which properly values their massive contribution to our media landscape.”

E tū is disappointed with NZ Post’s decision to move mail delivery into the parcel network, which will mean workers are moved to a contracting model.

NZ Post announced the details of the plan today, which is a response to declining mail volumes.

Postal worker and E tū delegate in Dunedin, Terry Howells, says workers are upset by the changes.

“I think it’s the end of an era for post itself, and people are quite downtrodden about it,” Terry says.

“A lot of posties took this job because it’s a good lifestyle, and this will be a major disruption to that. I can’t see it working in the long run.

“Being directly employed comes with all the employee benefits we’ve built up over time. I don’t think contractors are treated well here at all, the contracts are tough. Going into that side would be horrible, really. We can see it leading to exploitation, particularly for migrants.”

Terry says that affected workers are still looking for answers.

“It’s difficult to know what the next steps will be, we need more concrete information. The company needs to be a bit more upfront on what direction they’re going in. That’s a crucial part of the transition ahead.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Joe Gallagher, says NZ Post contracting out mail delivery will make them disconnected from the community.

“Having directly employed posties not only gives workers better protections, it also means NZ Post has a real stake in all parts of the delivery of the services,” Joe says.

“Passing the buck to a network of contractors means we’ll see a ‘race to the bottom’ with perverse incentives to make the most money, not deliver the best service. We see examples of this across many different industries.

“Mail delivery volume might be declining, but a robust network remains a core part of our society’s infrastructure.”

Joe says that while the union continues to oppose these changes, E tū and NZ Post are both committed to a ‘just transition’ for affected workers.

“The good news is that due to a long history of strong union membership, NZ Post workers are in a better position to shape their own future and all parties can work together to minimise the harm to affected workers.

“When people lose their jobs, or their jobs become more precarious, it affects the whole community. We’ve been proud of the work we have done in the past to ensure workers who are affected by changes in the post system are on the best footing possible, for example by helping them into new work through the E tū Job Match programme.”

E tū, the union for journalists and media workers in Aotearoa, is today launching a campaign to stop the proposed changes at TVNZ.

The Save Our Stories campaign is a response to last week’s announcement of a proposal for significant cuts across the workforce and the programmes produced, including cutting the shows Fair Go and Sunday, gutting Re: News, and cutting the Midday and Tonight bulletins.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, says the Save Our Stories campaign is about everyone coming together to protect the media platform.

“We’re bringing together workers, viewers, and supporters to remind TVNZ of their purpose and responsibilities. TVNZ isn’t just some business, it’s a vital part of our society and Kiwis need a strong TVNZ to tell Aotearoa’s stories and hold power to account.

“This is about everyone – every single New Zealander is a stakeholder in this, so we invite everybody who wants to build and protect a strong media landscape to support the campaign.”

The campaign has been launched with a video featuring people from across TVNZ’s workforce, and an open letter.

“So many people have reached out to our union to show their support for TVNZ workers and ask how they can help. From prominent public figures, to people whose lives have been changed thanks to TVNZ’s coverage, to dedicated viewers who don’t want to see their favourite shows get the axe.

“These people can help by signing the open letter, sharing our video, and sending the message to decision-makers that our media is worth protecting.”