There were no results from the first meeting between the management of Hebrew daily "Ma'ariv" and the journalists union and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel), at which management made its proposal for streamlining the newspaper.
Aides of "Ma'ariv's" publisher Shlomo Ben-Tzvi offered more layoffs - a small number - of employees of "Ma'ariv" and his other newspaper, "Makor Rishon", apparently through voluntary retirements. He also offered a differential pay cut based on pay grades, and moving "Ma'ariv" to Jerusalem, where the news desk will be consolidated with "Makor Rishon". He is also considering reducing the number of "Ma'ariv's" pages and supplements. He did not present any figures about the size of the cutbacks needed for "Ma'ariv" to break even.
Most of all, Ben-Tzvi asked the Histadrut and "Ma'ariv" employees for managerial flexibility to make decisions without depending on the union.
Immediately after the meeting, the "Ma'ariv" journalists' representatives left the Histadrut building in Tel Aviv to examine the proposal before submitting it to the employees.
This morning, "Ma'ariv" employees demonstrated at the newspaper's headquarters on Carlebach Street in Tel Aviv, and carried placards denouncing the workers' committee. Verbal arguments broke out between them and Histadrut officials.
Since Ben-Tzvi took over "Ma'ariv", he has reportedly injected NIS 50 million into the newspaper. Most of the money has come from his father-in-law, Conrad Morris, a British property magnate, but he has decided to halt the injections without far-reaching and immediate streamlining at the newspaper.
"Ma'ariv" said in response, "We do not comment on internal discussions."
The employees have not yet responded.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 7, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013