The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has expressed disappointment at the way HuffPost staff were treated by the company, including a lack of consultation and information about the future of the joint venture with Fairfax, despite repeated requests over the past week.
MEAA met yesterday with editorial staff from HuffPost Australia following Wednesday’s decision by the publisher and Fairfax Media to pull the pin on their two-year-old joint venture.
MEAA says all but a "small handful" of commercial and editorial staff have been made redundant, including editor-in-chief Lisa Wilkinson and editor Chris Paine.
“Members told us that they were better informed by reports about the publication’s future in other media than they were by their own employer,” MEAA media director Katelin McInerney said.
“They feel they were shown a lack of respect leading up to Wednesday’s announcement. In contrast to the bullish public statements by both companies, there will be very few opportunities for the staff to be redeployed within Fairfax.”
MEAA has obtained assurances from the employer that although there was not a collective agreement in place for HuffPost Australia, all staff who have been made redundant will receive their full entitlements, including redundancy pay.
When the news first broke earlier this week, HuffPost staff took to Twitter to share their thoughts, with many saying the move came as a shock.
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