MONEY CHANNEL THREATENED WITH LEGAL ACTION

BECTU are threatening to take legal action in support of a number of staff dismissed by bankrupt television channel, The Money Channel.
According to the union, when receivers were called into The Money Channel on May 4, staff were told that they were dismissed with immediate effect and were advised that they should register themselves as “preferred creditors” in order to recover any unpaid wages.
However, BECTU said that the staff concerned were not employed directly by The Money Channel, and actually worked for a facilities company Communicopia, which had not ceased trading.
The union claims that the staff should all have been given one month's contractual notice of dismissal, and full payment of all wages owed. The fact that income from the Money Channel had dried up was a problem for the company, and not the staff.
Union solicitors are now in the process of preparing tribunal claims for wrongful dismissal on behalf of members at the channel. Union officials are confident that the claims will succeed.
BECTU have also reported the situation to the Independent Television Commission, who are responsible for the regulatory supervision of commercial channels such as the Money Channel. (SP)