Working together: Chan (third from left) exchanging the collective agreement with Ravi during the signing ceremony at Menara Star. Looking on are (from left) Mahendraraj, Terence, Subramaniam and Mohd Shah. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The National Union of Newspaper Workers (NUNW) and Star Media Group Bhd (SMG) reached another milestone with the signing of the 17th collective agreement (CA).
Group chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt praised the union for its positive approach towards the negotiations.
“Our industry is facing challenges and endeavours, as such it was important to strike a balance for the benefit of all stakeholders. There are a lot more changes coming to our industry.
“It is important that parties keep an open mind in future negotiations.
“The key is for us to work together,” he said after signing the CA at Menara Star here yesterday.
Also present were NUNW executive secretary Mohd Shah Daniel, branch secretary P. Subramaniam, SMG Group People senior general manager Terence Raj and Group People senior manager Mahendraraj Mariappan.
NUNW general secretary R. Ravi, who represented the union, said their association with the company goes back 51 years.
“The print media was once the backbone of the company. However, with the rise of digital media, the print media is playing a smaller role.
“We have also lost many of our colleagues through periodic downsizing over the years. In this 17th CA, we had to take note of these two factors in concluding a balanced CA,” he said.
Ravi thanked Chan and his negotiation team for the professional way in which they handled negotiations with the union. The CA will see wage increases for all its members.
The 2024-2026 collective agreement covers 147 non-executive workers, including those from the print, circulation, revenue, transport and administration departments.
The CA is effective from Jan 1, 2024.
