JOE LITTLE has been elected to represent staff on the new RTÉ board following a campaign in which he called for a sliding scale of further cuts for top earners at the broadcaster, ranging from 5 per cent to 45 per cent for all on over €120,000 a year.
During the summer unionised staff at RTÉ voted narrowly to accept pay-cuts ranging from 2.6 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
Little, who has been Religious and Social Affairs Correspondent at RTÉ since 1994, also promised in his campaign to challenge “the blanket gag imposed on my predecessor on the outgoing Authority.”
Last night, he said he regarded his vote, which was twice that of his nearest rival, “as a resounding endorsement of my platform.”
Of the six candidates, he received 534 votes in a 1,087 valid poll.
The RTÉ board, to be set up under the new Broadcasting Act, will have one staff representative.
The board will have 12 members. It will replace the RTÉ Authority and serve for five years.
Last night Mr Little “promised to issue a newsletter on my work on the board to my constituents while respecting commercial confidentiality and legal parameters.
“I believe that I have a legal responsibility to do this as, for the first time the role of the staff representative is established by statute in the Broadcasting Act, 2009.”
He said that “only a workforce which is adequately informed can contribute to the maximum degree to the organisation’s further development.”