Tamedia: Landbote submits petition

In it, they categorically reject the "accompanying 2014 social plan" drawn up by the Group and demand the application of the "2009 social plan", which was negotiated at Tages-Anzeiger in 2009 and has since been implemented on various occasions. They are supported by Syndicom and Imprint, as the two associations write in a statement.

The reorganization that Tamedia wants to implement at the Winterthurer Landbote and the Zurich regional newspapers is nothing more than "a whitewashed cost-cutting measure on the backs of the staff and at the expense of the diversity and quality of the media," according to the statement. Tamedia wants to merge editorial teams and is cutting at least 25 full-time positions in another mass layoff. Syndicom and Impressum already communicated their displeasure about the upcoming restructuring in January (Werbewoche.ch reported).

In the consultation process, which is mandatory in the case of mass layoffs, the staff committees had made constructive and innovative proposals on how jobs could be saved and how journalistic services could be maintained. Tamedia had rejected everything outright. The staff justifiably felt that they had been put before their heads and not taken seriously, the statement continued.

In addition, Tamedia is lacking any social responsibility in cushioning the redundancies that the company intends to make in the coming weeks and is throwing previous standards out the window. The unilaterally issued "accompanying social plan" is categorically rejected by the entire staff.

The benefits offered are far below the level of previous Tamedia social plans and are even below the rates customary in the industry nationwide. Neither severance payments nor compensation payments in the event of unemployment are provided for, and those who retire early are left without cushioning payments into the pension fund. In addition, the scope of application is very narrowly defined; regular freelancers, for example, are completely excluded.

Imprint and Syndicom emphasize that resistance to this treatment of the staff is also being voiced in other parts of Tamedia - they are aware that the same fate could befall them. Accordingly, various staff committees have also declared their solidarity with their colleagues at Landbote, Zürichsee-Zeitung and Zürcher Unterländer.

By presenting this "accompanying social plan 2014" to the editorial staff, Tamedia was shirking any social responsibility. As the most powerful media company in Switzerland, which reported a profit of CHF 152 million in the 2012 financial year, such behavior towards the employees is incomprehensible and scandalous. With the petition, the staff of the affected editorial offices demand the application of the 2009 social plan, including the annexes for early retirement, which was negotiated with the social partners at the time and can be described as fair.