Ming Pao Staff Association members meet with management but fail to reverse decision to fire chief executive editor Keung Kwok-yuen
DANNY.MOK@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Thursday, 28 April, 2016, 10:07am
Ming Pao editor-in-chief Chong Tien Siong speaking about the sacking of the paper’s No 2 editor. Photo: Ming Pao Staff Association
Journalists from Chinese-language daily Ming Paothreatened to take industrial action after the management refused to withdraw the controversial decision to fire its well-respected No 2 editor.
In the latest development over the abrupt sacking of chief executive editor Keung Kwok-yuen, nine members of the Ming Pao Staff Association said they had met the daily’s editor-in-chief Chong Tien Siong and a delegate from the daily’s parent company Media Chinese International on Wednesday, when they urged them to make a U-turn on the decision to fire Keung.
But the association’s call was turned down.
It proposed suspending the staff lunch voucher welfare scheme, which reportedly costs the company HK$100,000 a month, in exchange for re-employing Keung.
This suggestion was also rejected, with the management saying it would be difficult to manage.
Keung was abruptly fired last week to cut costs, according to the management. But the association suspected the move was meant to punish “dissidents of editorial decisions”, which deepened concern about press freedom in the city.
The association delegates learned in the meeting that the cost-saving target had been met, and they were promised that no more sackings would be seen in this year. But association members were not happy as the operational details of the newspaper were not disclosed.
They also requested an apology over how Chong handled the blank space left by several columnists earlier this week as a protest against the controversial dismissal, but were also refused.
The editor-in-chief was said to have responded to the empty columns with the addition of an editor’s note to reiterate that the paper’s decision to dismiss Keung was due to cost-cutting measures and that the paper’s editorial stance remained unchanged. His alleged move annoyed the association, which accused Chong of attempting to obstruct freedom of expression.
The association said on Wednesday night that the management’s attitude at the meeting was disappointing, and they had decided to initiate preparation for industrial action. The association’s chairwoman Phyllis Tsang said they would study different options before taking action.
“We hope the company can give a concrete and clear reply to the calls from the colleagues,” Tsang said.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1939443/staff-major-hong-kong-newspaper-threaten-industrial-action-over
