Super One employees accept collective agreement

Super One employees yesterday reversed a decision they took a week ago and accepted the collective agreement negotiated on their behalf by the General Workers' Union's media and services section.

The GWU said the "absolute majority of workers" accepted the agreement. A total of 27 workers voted in favour and one against in a secret ballot, the union said.

Last week, 25 out of 27 employees had voted against the package. But then the management threatened it would trigger a process that could include redundancies.

When section secretary Karmenu Vella insisted on the re-opening of discussions, it was decided to convene another meeting in the hope that the workers would accept the agreement.

The agreement covers the period January 2005 to December 2006 and includes changes in work practices, restructuring and a number of measures aimed at enhancing the company's financial position.

Overtime payment and the Sunday premium payment have practically been abolished, with employees being paid an hourly rate plus 10 per cent when they work overtime and a flat rate plus 20 per cent when they work on Sundays.

The company bound itself to invest in digital equipment and both the union and management agreed to meet every three months to examine the company's financial position and see if the targets set by the company were being met, in which case the financial package may be revised.

The Labour Party-owned company was planning to shed 22 per cent of its workforce. Super One's management wanted to eliminate all payments for overtime as well as the premiums for working on Sundays and public holidays.

It also wanted to terminate all forms of payment for producing and presenting programmes, irrespective of whether this was done during or after office hours.

Managers were going to see a Lm1,000 cut in their salaries.