More pay cuts on way at RTE
12 May 09

Around 500 RTE staff will have to take pay cuts over and above their promise to give back 10pc of their salaries.

The members of staff, mostly members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Siptu, met in the Radio Centre to discuss €10m cuts in pay sought by management as part of its plans to close a projected €68m deficit this year. The cuts would range from 5pc for the first €50,000 earned by employees; a further 7.5pc for earnings between €50,000 and €100,000; 10pc between €100,000 and €150,000; 12.5 per cent between €150,000 and €250,000; and 17.5pc for the highest-earning employees at RTE. RTE management told the unions that the salaries of some of RTE's highest stars will be reduced when they come up for renewal and that the salaries of all independent contractors at the station are being reviewed to achieve "significant savings".

Currently, RTE pays €11.9m to 243 contractors, but 30 of those contractors, who are mostly high-paid presenters, earn more than €100,000 a year. Nearly all of RTE's top-paid presenters including Pat Kenny, Gerry Ryan and Kenny's 'Late Late' replacement, Ryan Tubridy, are sole traders.