Cancellations at Du magazine cause controversy

 Following the sale of the cultural magazine Du, several people have lost their jobs. The Comedia trade union is demanding that those affected receive recognition for their "years of commitment" over and above the legal minimum. However, according to the news agency SDA, the previous publisher Heer does not want to enter into talks with the unions: "We have been in the red for four years. Now it's the end of the fire."
Even the number of people affected is disputed: The trade union Comedia puts the number at eleven, publisher Heer speaks of seven people, including a man of AHV age and a self-employed graphic designer. According to Persönlich.com, they share 280 percent of their jobs.
Heer emphasized to SDA that all terminations were in accordance with the law. According to the new publisher Oliver Prange, it is not yet clear whether any of the current team will be taken on.
The art and culture magazine Du, which had belonged to the Zurich publishing house Tamedia until 2004, was sold by the Thurgau publishing house Niggli Verlag to Persönlich Verlag in Rapperswil at the end of August.