Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 Postmedia purchase of Sun Media under union scrutiny OTTAWA — After Postmedia announced its bid to buy 175 Sun Media newspapers and online news sites on Oct. 6, the union for workers at both media heavy- weights will be keeping a close eye on the purchase as it unfolds. Unifor, which represents about 12,000 media staffers across the country, including at Postmedia and Sun Media, cited possible closure and competition as par- ticularly concerning. As such, the union said it will be holding Postmedia president Paul God- frey accountable to his promise not to shutter any publications as a result of the sale. "This is a very difficult time for our members, and Unifor will be there for them to protect their rights and their ability to do their jobs effectively, as well as the fu- ture viability of this important in- dustry," said Howard Law, media director for the union. Quebecor is selling its Sun Me- dia chain of newspapers (such as the Toronto Sun, Edmonton Sun and the London Free Press) in a $316 million deal (less a $10 mil- lion adjustment in relation to real estate) in an attempt to combat the struggles of dwindling adver- tising and subscriber revenues. Postmedia, which owns such publications as the National Post, Montreal Gazette and Vancou- ver Sun, will finance the deal by issuing $140 million in new debt and raise $186 million through a rights offering. "The acquisition brings to- gether an impressive stable of brands that collectively create a stronger Canadian media plat- form that is better positioned to compete against foreign-based digital offerings and offers a greater range of choices to our readers," Godfrey said in a state- ment. "We intend to continue to operate the Sun Media major market dailies and their digital properties side by side with our existing properties in markets with multiple brands as we have in Vancouver with the Province and Vancouver Sun for more than 30 years." Should it come to fruition, the merger will be subject to approval from the government-led Com- petition Bureau. "While media ownership concentration can raise other public interest concerns, un- der the Competition Act, the bureau's mandate is to review mergers exclusively to deter- mine whether they are likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition," explained John Pecman, the commissioner of competition at the bureau. This is particularly worrying for journalists at Postmedia's Vancouver Sun and the Province. Back in 2010, New York-based hedge fund company Golden Tree Asset Management effec- tively rescued Postmedia from bankruptcy by acquiring $700 million in bonds. "It is a sad day when scores of Canadian newspapers fall into the hands of U.S.-based hedge funds," said Gary Engler, vice president of the local Uni- for chapter in Vancouver. "Our Postmedia members have expe- rienced four years of cutbacks and centralization from a com- pany effectively controlled by Golden Tree Asset Management and we expect this sale will lead to more of the same. (We) will do what we can to protect our members' interests and to de- fend Canadian journalism." Passengers wait for a London underground train after workers staged a 48-hour lockout over plans to close ticket offi ces and cut jobs. FORMERLy CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Carswell Media Karen Lorimer Publisher John Hobel - On leave Acting Publisher/Managing Editor Todd Humber News Editor Sabrina Nanji | (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com News Editor Liz Foster | (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator Keith Fullford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fullford@thomsonreuters.com © 2014 Carswell, a division of omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistanceis required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. e analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either offi cial or unoffi cial policy of any governmental body. ISSN 0045-5113 Publications Registration 2089 Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications. Visit www.hrreporter.com for more information. Labour Reporter Canadian www.labourreporter.com Photo: Neil Hall (Reuters) LABOUR LENS

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