ABC staff are urging the national broadcaster to drop its legal battle and settle its case against journalist Antoinette Lattouf to avoid “accumulating costs”.
Lattouf was sacked by the ABC in December over her posts about the Gaza war, just three days after a week-long stint as a fill-in presenter on Radio Sydney’s morning show.
The former stand-in radio presenter has taken legal action against the ABC at the Fair Work Commission, claiming the decision was political, based on her stance on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage.
ABC has since rejected Lattouf’s request for a settlement, which includes a public apology, reinstatement as a substitute radio host and $85,000.
The national broadcaster has defended itself against the claim of unfair dismissal and is believed to have submitted an undisclosed counter-offer.
The ABC’s national union committee said staff at the broadcaster were disappointed that management had rejected Lattouf’s settlement offer.
Union members called the offer “modest” and called on President Kim Williams and the board to intervene if ABC management pursues the case.
“Arguing that Ms. Lattouf was not fired and then rejecting a modest early settlement offer does not strike us as model litigious behavior,” the House committee said. Age.
The ABC’s national union committee said staff at the broadcaster were urging management to accept the settlement with Lattouf’s officer (pictured arriving at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney) as continuing the legal battle would “risk increasing costs”.
Lattouf has filed a Fair Work claim against the ABC after she was sacked as a stand-in presenter on Radio Sydney’s morning show over her social media posts about the war in Gaza.
The committee argued that continuing the defense would be risky. ‘risk of increased costs, which will reduce operating and staff budgets’.
Members urged the ABC to settle with the former radio stand-in “rather than continue to rack up these costs and fight with a staff member who did nothing wrong”, ahead of a Federal Court hearing on February 27.
Lattouf was fired by ABC on Dec. 20, minutes after her Wednesday show ended and just hours after a member of a Jewish WhatsApp group called for a day of action against her.
The 40-year-old was taken off air just three days into her week-long stint as a stand-in presenter for ABC Radio after she reposted a Human Rights Watch video about the use of starvation as a tool of war in Gaza.
She subsequently filed a Fair Work claim, alleging she had been dismissed because of her political views and Lebanese ancestry.
Lattouf’s legal team argued that ABC violated its disciplinary policies in its enterprise agreement by firing the journalist.
ABC claimed she violated the organization’s social media policy around impartiality and was not actually fired because she was paid for the full week.
However, the Fair Work Commission ruled in June that Lattouf had indeed been sacked from the national broadcaster.
ABC’s total legal costs in the case against Lattouf are still unknown, despite director general David Anderson answering questions during Senate estimates in May.
Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi questioned Mr Anderson over the ABC’s legal costs.
“The public has a right to know how much the ABC is spending to defend the dismissal of journalist Antoinette Lattouf for reporting a fact that the ABC itself reported,” Faruqi said.
The national broadcaster has defended itself against the unfair dismissal claim and is understood to have submitted an undisclosed counter-offer.
Mr Faruqi wrote to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland last week calling the government’s delay in publishing the figures “totally unacceptable”.
The ABC House committee also criticised management for failing to disclose its legal fees and for hiring major US law firm Seyfarth Shaw to handle the dispute.
The firm is known for handling disputes involving workers and unions and has previously defended high-profile companies including Amazon, Starbucks and Apple.
The government is understood to be processing the question about ABC’s legal expenses to date and will provide a response when available.
(tags to translate)dailymail
