The West Australian is reporting (subscription required) that nearly 40 ABC journalists in WA’s mining areas have today been told their regional allowance will be axed, slashing up to $15,000 annually from some payslips.
The cuts will apply to journalists in Kununurra, Broome, Karratha, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton and Esperance.
According to the West Australian, the journalists received a brief email inviting them to a video conference, and they were “blindsided” by the decision to cut $300,000 from the group.
When the regional allowance was first introduced in 2006 is was costing an estimated $60,000 p/a, but the journalists were told that this has now ballooned out to $300,000 p/a, and the broadcaster claimed there was no longer a gap in the cost of housing for the regional employees affected.
In a statement to The West Australian today, an ABC spokesman said the payment was not part of the ABC’s staff remuneration agreement.
“It is therefore reviewed regularly. With housing costs in mining regions returning mostly to pre-boom levels, the ABC has once again reviewed this payment and decided that it is no longer required,” he said.
The additional payments will be phased out over the next one to two years.
37 ABC journos in WA's mining areas told regional allowances will be axed, slashing up to $15k annually from some payslips.
What happened to getting staff out of Ultimo & into the regions?
-Kununurra
-Broome
-Karratha
-Kalgoorlie
-Geraldton
-Esperance https://t.co/p7vWfrZf4F— Caitlyn Rintoul (@caitlynrintoul) August 6, 2020
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Makes sense to me. Housing costs have fallen and that is what these allowances cover.