Sir, – Dave Robbie’s (July 28th) solution to the RTÉ gender pay problem – reduce the men’s rate to the women’s level – would go some way to restoring the situation to what it used to be.
From 1969 I worked in RTÉ News for 21 years, 16 of those as head of news. During that period (and for many years previously) common rates of pay on incremental scales were negotiated with the National Union of Journalists and Equity regardless of gender or on- or off-air function of the staff involved as news broadcasting was regarded as a team effort.
The bulletins on radio and television attracted high audience ratings throughout the years. New programmes were introduced, including Morning Ireland on radio and Six-One News on television without “personality” payments being made to anyone above the negotiated rates.
Why was the vehicle “fixed” when it was not broken? – Yours, etc,
WESLEY BOYD,
Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.
Sir, – Might I suggest a solution to the problem of significant pay differences among RTÉ journalists? An average should be taken of both male and female journalists’ staff salaries and percentage differences extrapolated. This should be then applied to the television licence: ie, women should pay significantly less. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL HYLAND,
Dublin 18.