The leaders of all the major political parties in Northern Ireland have signed a petition urging Belfast-based media group UTV to halt proposed jobs cuts from the service.
First minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, Ulster Unionist party leader Sir Reg Empey and Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Mark Durkan are among the six signatories on a petition.
The petition urges the Ulster ITV franchise to delay the cuts until broadcast regulator Ofcom has published its final report expected in the first half of 2009.
Gerry Morrissey, BECTU’s General Secretary, has stated on the BECTU website that: “We are obliged to Northern Ireland’s party leaders for their swift recognition of what is at stake here. The loss of real diversity and quality in local programmes would be a major setback for Northern Ireland’s communities. The support of the Assembly’s political leaders for the campaign is a major boost.”
According to media reports, UTV has offered all staff in its 118-strong TV division the chance to take voluntary redundancy and has said it will cut its news and current affairs programmes.
In a statement Michael Wilson, Managing Director, UTV Television said: “We welcome the positive comments about the need for a robust and diverse media in Northern Ireland expressed by the political leaders. We wrote to all MEPs, MPs and MLAs in early September asking for their views on public service broadcasting and their support for UTV programming as part of this consultation.
“We have already briefed the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Chairperson of the DCAL Committee on our plans and have met with some of the political parties at Stormont to discuss Ofcom’s proposals. In addition we look forward to outlining our plans to the DCAL Committee on the 20 November.
“Last week we announced to staff that we are extending the deadline for our voluntary redundancy programme. This is aimed at taking into account UTV’s anticipated staffing as we restructure our business and programme requirements for 2009.
“We appreciate the political party leaders’ understanding of the difficult economic conditions facing television and look forward to meaningful discussions with them in the coming weeks.
“No one is more committed to high quality regional production for Northern Ireland than UTV. We have a proven track record in this area which is second to none. We are currently in the process of consulting with our staff, regulator and elected representatives on our future programming proposals which guarantee first class news and current affairs coverage as well as a wide and diverse portfolio of regional programmes for our audience going forward, as we do now. We have always over produced our production quota and it is most likely we will continue to over deliver the types of programmes our audience most want.
“UTV is the most watched television station by far in Northern Ireland and we are confident that our programming going forward will remain the first choice for local viewers.”
