150 to 200 Ostschweiz am Sonntag delivery staff threatened with dismissal
Because the printed edition of Ostschweiz am Sonntag will be discontinued at the end of October, 150 to 200 newspaper delivery staff can expect to be laid off. Presto Presse-Vertrieb is currently conducting a consultation process.
Presto had informed the works committee at the St. Gallen site and the Syndicom union last Tuesday about the discontinuation of the print edition of Ostschweiz am Sonntag (Advertising week reported), the Syndicom trade union announced on Friday. The consultation process, which is mandatory for mass layoffs, runs until October 19. Within this period, employees can work out proposals together with their works committee and the union to avoid or reduce the planned layoffs and mitigate the consequences.
Presto has a "duty to make the planned cutbacks as socially acceptable as possible," the union writes. Thinning out on Sunday Syndicom regrets the discontinuation of the printed Ostschweiz am Sonntag by the NZZ Group. This will lead to a further thinning out of the variety of Sunday newspapers, it says. The announced staff reductions, especially in the proofreading department, must be absorbed by the NZZ Group without layoffs, the union demands.
If the NZZ Group wants to have part of the texts read by an external provider in the future, Syndicom will make representations to the NZZ if this provider does not carry out the proofreading under collective labor agreement conditions. Syndicom writes that "such wage dumping would look bad for the NZZ Group, which has so far sold quality as a feature".(SDA)
