RTE staff members have said “root and branch reforms” are needed and the national broadcaster needs “to come clean about what’s been going on” as around 200 employees joined a protest in Montrose today.
The protest saw staff members from across the organisation air their frustrations and call for clarity following revelations of undisclosed payments to Ryan Tubridy. A large cohort of NUJ and SIPTU members were in attendance.
RTE Midlands correspondent Sinead Hussey told Dublin Live: “The last few days have been difficult for all of us. We feel very let down, very betrayed.
“We come to work every day, we work very hard, we provide a very important public service for the Irish public. And it turns out that behind our backs, where we’ve been told that there’s no money and no resources, a small number of people are receiving a different special allowance that you could never dream of.”
Read more: Dee Forbes confirms she won't attend Oireachtas hearing
She added that she recently covered court cases which saw people receiving hefty fines for not paying their licence fee, “and you have to imagine that those people are feeling very hurt and let down today when they hear what’s going on.”
She continued: “We owe it to the public and we owe it to the staff to get to the bottom of this, to find out the answers, to come clean about what’s been going on. Root and branch reforms are needed in this organisation.
“I believe in this organisation, I believe we will rise again. But it will be very difficult. I think today is important and the next few days will be important as management have to answer questions that the Irish public deserve to know.”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
