Pay to retain Postmedia workers instead of executives, union says

TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2016 /CNW/ - The union representing most of Ontario's unionized newspaper employees says Postmedia Network Inc. should give nearly $2.3 million to its employees instead of five top company executives.

"It is beyond belief that a company that just announced it needed to slash its payroll by 20 per cent turns around and awards its senior executives millions of dollars," said Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M.

"That money should be spent to retain workers," Morse said. "Many non-union employees, for example, haven't had a pay raise in several years."

It was revealed Wednesday that Postmedia, which has been struggling with falling revenues and debt, recently paid the executives nearly $2.3 million in so-called "retention pay." This follows a storm of controversy a year ago when it was revealed that the company paid its executives almost a million dollars in bonuses for negotiating the purchase of Sun Media.

Unifor Local 87-M represents about 2,400 media workers across southern Ontario, including the Toronto Sun and 13 other Postmedia daily newspapers.

Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union with over 310,000 members in all sectors of the economy, including 12,000 in media across the country.

SOURCE Unifor Local 87-M

Paul Morse, 905-536-5650, [email protected].