"Royal prank" DJ Mel Greig has taken legal action against her employer, 2Day FM, accusing the station of failing to provide a safe workplace, after her involvement in last year's royal prank call.Greig – who has been off the air since British nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself last December – has filed a claim with the Fair Work Commission.
[Here's the background to this story...]
She alleges Southern Cross Austereo failed to maintain a safe workplace in relation to the hoax phone call incident. Greig is still employed by Austereo and both she and Austereo are making no comments.
While she has not returned to work, her co-host Michael Christian has, and was controversially named the network's "top jock" in June.
If Greig and Austereo fail to settle the matter in conciliation, they'll head to court... + But wait: there's more! Austereo is now trying to cover its butt. It's gone to the Federal Court, questioning the authority of the broadcasting watchdog Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Austereo claims the ACMA has no power to decide if it broke the law by recording and broadcasting the hoax phone call without permission. If the court decision goes in favour of the ACMA, 2Day FM faces a hefty penalty - most likely a licence suspension, meaning the station will be pulled off-air temporarily.
I believe both Greig and her cohort Michael Christian are responsible for this stupid prank, though the nurse was ultimately accountable for her own terminal action. However unless the radio station ordered them to make that stupid call, it surely can't be guilty.
As for 'failing to provide a safe workplace', Greig may find that relates to things like harrassment and loose carpet in stairwells - NOT being blamed for a dickhead waste of airtime that ultimately pressured an unstable woman to kill herself.
No comments:
Post a Comment