Mao Te International Investment Co said at an administrative hearing yesterday that it would consider having representatives for workers serve on the Eastern Broadcasting Corp (EBC) board if its acquisition of the cable television network is approved by the National Communications Commission (NCC).
The company, owned by property developer Chang Kao-hsiang (張高祥), last year acquired EBC for NT$12.3 billion (US$416 million at the current exchange rate) from the network’s two previously largest shareholders, Eastern Media International and Carlyle Group.
The hearing was restricted to the buyer, the seller, stakeholders involved in the deal, as well as independent appraisers invited by the NCC.
The commission held a public hearing earlier this month to solicit views from the general public.
During the hearing, Mao Te reiterated the promises that it made at the public hearing, including not laying off workers currently employed by EBC, raising international news coverage by at least 10 percent, upholding journalistic independence, increasing investment in program production and the building of a large headquarters.
Mao Te should also consider raising salaries for entry-level workers when it takes over management of the network, as EBC has lost a lot of experienced people to other networks in the past few years due to low starting salaries, Eastern Broadcasting Corp union chairman Liao Chi-kuang (廖啟光) said.
Mao Te should also consider having workers’ representatives serve on the board, he added.
“They can coordinate between management and workers and share workers’ thoughts and opinions on certain policy decisions, which would help boost morale and improve relations between management and workers,” Liao said.
Independent appraisers Shih Chien University accounting professor Chen Jiin-feng (陳錦烽) and National Chengchi University professor Tseng Kuo-feng (曾國峰) echoed Liao’s suggestion.
Chen said that Mao Te should make a specific commitment to have at least one board member who represents workers and that it should not wait until it officially becomes the network’s owner.
Tseng said that while he was impressed by Mao Te’s promise, independent advisers might not grasp the day-to-day operations of the network.
Having workers serve as board directors would enable management to better understand how their decisions affect workers, which could help resolve conflicts without resorting to protests or other extreme measures, Tseng said.
Chang’s lawyer Lin Tse-tsang (林則奘) said that Chang has been ruminating over having workers’ representatives serve as board members since a public hearing earlier this month, adding that workers’ salaries are his top priority.
Lin defended Chang’s decision to recruit independent directors, saying that it is necessary for an entrepreneur to protect his assets.
“Chang is like a blank piece of paper. He will follow any good advice and do what is best for EBC, regardless of how much it costs,” Lin said.
Mao Te International Investment Co was established specifically for EBC, but people should not doubt Chang’s long-term commitment in running the network, Lin said.
Chang is to assemble a team to run EBC, which would then decide if the network’s content should be aired on Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand system or other Internet platforms.
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