Staff call for SIBC chief's resignation
Title -- 3981 SOLOMON IS: Staff call for SIBC chief's resignation
Date -- 15 March 2003
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Pacnews, first edition, editor@pacnews.org 14/3/03
Copyright -- Pacnews
Status -- Unabridged
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RADIO CHIEF EMBROILED IN RESTRUCTURE DISPUTE
www.pacnews.org
HONIARA (Pacnews/Pacific Media Watch): Staff members of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) have demanded that their chief executive Johnson Honimae resign and threatened to strike in a row over controversial restructuring plans, Pacnews reports.
Honimae, who is also president of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), was in Suva this week for talks over a planned merger between PINA and the Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association (PIBA), which operates the Pacnews service.
But Pacnews did not report comment from him.
Pacnews reported that radio station staff, many of them members of the SIBC Staff Union, had demanded Honimae's resignation within 20 days for his claimed failure to inform them of his restructure plans.
Union president Baddley Alaha told Pacnews that Honimae did not consult the staff and management about the SIBC board-approved restructure, which would involve the sacking of six line managers and other jobs.
"None of us will make a sacrifice, none of us will leave his or her job because of Mr Honimae's plan," Alaha said. "We don't have a problem with restructure, but we have a problem with him not consulting us, either the staff or the management regarding the matter".
Alaha said the SIBC board asked the union last week to withdraw their strike notice but the union refused.
Commenting on Honimae's visit to Suva, Alaha said staff were not aware of media reports that he was asked to take a nine-day leave to allow the dispute to settle.
"In fact, the board told us he had applied for leave to go to Suva (Fiji) for a PINA meeting," he said.
"As for our stand for Johnson's resignation, no, we will not withdraw that at all".
Staff maintained they would stop work when their 28-day strike notice lapsed if Honimae did not resign.
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