THAILAND: Mcot staff to protest against board installed by the government

Mcot employees to petition to prime minister against current state-run board of directors' non-profit policy making

Bangkok Post
Tuesday, November 7, 2006

By Mongkol Bangprapa

Staff of Mcot Plc will today petition Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to replace the current Mcot board, which they say is made up only of scholars who lack management skills.

They expressed dissatisfaction at the new board which earlier made clear its commitment to make a "180-degree U-turn" and focus on a non-profit making policy.

The new board also blamed its predecessor for failing to pay concession fees to the state.

"More than 400 signatures out of a total of 800 employees have been collected. "We will dress in black in protest against the new board," a source at Mcot said.

The source said they will call on the government to change the board which was chosen on Oct 26 after former president Mingkwan Sangsuwan resigned on Sept 26 to take responsibility for allowing the airing of a state of emergency declaration by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra hours before he was ousted by the Sept 19 coup.

"The government already has its state-run Channel 11. Why should it have to turn Mcot into another Channel 11?" the source said.

Nattapong Phattarapong, of Mcot's labour union, said the new board's policy was inconsistent with the privatised structure of the broadcaster. Mr Nattapong said Mcot had lost 30 million baht because of the new board's stance which had led to a drop in its share price and advertising revenues.

Patchara Sarnpimpa, president of the Mcot labour union, said the union agreed the new board had caused panic and confusion among staff, advertising agencies and programme producers.

The union demanded the Mcot board and Prime Minister's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan, who oversees Mcot, to explain policy to staff, Mr Patchara said.

Although Mcot had not paid concession fees to the state, he added, it had paid tax worth 389 million baht and offered dividends to the Finance Ministry, one of its shareholders, amounting to 900 million baht last year. Mr Thirapat said the Mcot board of directors would decide on the rearrangement of Channel 9 programmes.

Chulayut Hiranyawasit, Prime Minister's Office permanent secretary, said the PM's Office will file a lawsuit to the Attorney General against iTV seeking 94 billion baht in concession fees from the broadcaster following the Administrative Court's ruling in May.

Date Posted: 11/7/2006

Printer friendly version