22 Jun 2012

Fairfax Media and unions to talk

9:30 am on 22 June 2012

Fairfax Media employees in Australia have won a reprieve after unions went to the national industrial tribunal over the company's plans to axe 1900 jobs in a major restructure of its operations.

The ABC reports five unions and the Australian Council of Trade Unions went to Fair Work Australia, saying the company had breached its legal obligations.

AMWY says Fairfax has agreed to negotiate on the redundancies. The ABC reports talks are expected to start within a week.

On Monday, Fairfax announced a major restructure, including the job losses and closing two printing plants.

Under disclosure rules, Fairfax had to announce its restructure plans to the Australian Securities Exchange at the same time as it informed employees.

News Ltd also announced an overhaul of its Australian operations on Thursday, but has committed to talking to unions before cutting jobs.