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The Union of Professional Journalists of Rio de Janeiro (SJPMRJ) held last Monday (21) a virtual meeting with reporters and producers, as well as professionals from CLT, who were recently fired and who continue to be hired by Disney in the process of merger between Fox Sports and ESPN. The organization says it views the process “with extreme concern” and wants to enter into a dialogue with Fox for a possible retention of positions until the end of 2021.
“We will wait for a response from the company. If it does not arrive, we will look for Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense). It is important to note that the company is not complying with the Concentration Control Agreement, when it promised to keep all events on the grid of Schedule”. sports facilities distributed in Brazil, “said Carmen Pereira, director of the SJPMRJ, UOL Sport.
In recent weeks, Fox has laid off more than 30 professionals, including reporters, presenters and producers. Seven programs were canceled.
Disney talks to another union body, the Sicav (Interstate Union of Industrial Workers Cinematographic and Audiovisual), which does not take care of the interests of journalists, but of technicians, cameras and other professionals behind the scenes of TV. Disney claims that SJPMRJ does not represent anyone who works at Fox Sports. Still, just before Christmas, SJPMRJ managed to start conversations with the programmer. Disney also claims that the departures do not affect Cade’s treatment in any way. Another point is that Fox had a millionaire hole and that Disney needs to clear the board to reduce the channel’s debt.
Officially proposed to speak on the matter, the company declined to comment.
See SJPMRJ’s full note on the merger between ESPN and Fox Sports:
“UNION WANTS WORK GUARANTEE AT FOX SPORTS
The Union of Professional Journalists of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (SJPMRJ) views with extreme concern the increasingly uncertain and dark process of the merger of Disney (ESPN channels) with Fox Brasil.
More than six months after the approval of the CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), misinformation, uncertainty about the future and a festival of rumors surround the 300 Fox workers in Rio, including 60 journalists.
Despite repeated requests, Fox management has simply ignored SJPMRJ’s requests for a meeting to clarify the future of media professionals. The channel is going through a process of emptying, with six programs closed and several layoffs.
Contracts with legal entities, the so-called Talents (presenters, commentators) are being renegotiated or closed, but the team of journalists employed by the channel does not receive any official information.
Under the CADE agreement, Disney is expected to keep Fox Sports on the air until January 2022. This could mean keeping jobs for at least all of 2021. Unfortunately, what you hear on the radio corridor is that in January the entire team will be fired. Mass layoffs in the midst of a pandemic, in a company that has no financial problems and an increasingly restricted labor market! This measure is totally absurd and, in the Union’s interpretation, circumvents the agreement with CADE.
To build a proposal that ensures the participation of workers in the debate on the future of Fox Sports, the SJPMRJ held a virtual meeting with journalists and will seek to expand this debate with the other unions, in order to ensure that the agreement signed with CADE is respected in defense of employment and labor rights.
SJPMRJ Board of Directors, December 21, 2020 “
