International union leaders from across the world have given their backing to calls from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) for recognition of journalism as a public good as part of a global campaign to defend public services.

The international union conference Quality Public Services - ACTION NOW!, which brought together more than 400 union leaders from around the world and all sectors of the global economy, heard from IFJ representatives that the crisis of quality in journalism and the need to defend public services should also be a focus of the international campaign launched at the meeting which ended today in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Journalists are challenging those who are cutting standards, focusing on celebrity news and ignoring information about the harsh truths about what is happening in society," said Roberto Natale, President of the Federation of the National Press in Italy. "The struggle for standards and quality in journalism is in everyone's interests."

Natale told the conference that journalists in Italy and across Europe are acting to restore professional standards and to challenge new threats to quality journalism, including the use of media to foment intolerance and racism. "The battle for ethical and quality journalism is a fight in which all citizens and groups in society have a stake. It is vital for democracy that people get reliable and truthful information," he said.

John Barsby, from the National Union of Journalists in Great Britain and Ireland (NUJ) and Chairman of the Broadcasting Expert Group of the European Federation of Journalists, also intervened and called for broader public support for the campaign to maintain public service. "The savage cuts in public spending are also threatening public broadcasting," he said. "Journalists unions and the wider trade union movement need to work together to defend the public's right to know and the right to have access to quality information."

The conference adopted a comprehensive action plan and charter outlining the aims of a global campaign to defend services, in particular education, health and transport services. The priorities of unions in the culture, communications and journalism sector were also taken up and a special session involving representatives of artists, musicians and journalists highlighted the impact of cuts on the cultural life of society.

The campaign, which will be further developed by global union leaders in the coming months, will be used to support growing protests in many countries that the quality of people' lives will be drastically reduced by draconian cuts in public spending. More information about the conference and its outcomes can be found at www.qpsconference.org.

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 478 258 669      

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide