Today 19 February, journalists in Athens and across the country went on
strike, ahead of the general strike called by the General
Confederation of Greek Workers to take place
tomorrow. Journalists went on strike one day earlier in
order to cover the general workers mobilization but the media strike
coincides with the visit of French President F. Hollande in Athens.
The
striking mobilisation
was called by the IFJ/EFJ affiliates, the Journalists'
Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN), the Panhellenic Federation of
Journalists' Unions (PFJU)
and joined today by the
Journalists' Union of Macedonia and Thrace (ESIEMTH). It started two
weeks ago and is still going on with the participation of the collaborating media
workers Unions spreading to private media as well.
The main strike demands are:
a. Bargaining for
collective agreements,
currently replaced by a "Joint Ministerial Decision". The government
insists on imposing blanket wages and working conditions for all public
employees thus reducing journalists salaries dramatically, causing job
redundancies and drops in media insurance funds resources, affecting overall
media operations and public opinion information.
b. The
government to take steps in relieving unemployed journalists and media workers
from tax payments and special levies on electricity bills.
c.
To take
steps to compensate losses in the Journalists Funds reserves compelled to
participate in the "PSI process" replacing private bonds with new public bonds,
endangering the ability to provide pensions and health insurance coverage for
journalists and their families.
d. To
reverse the law allowing the reserves of
public broadcaster ERT to be allocated to electricity producing
companies.
e. Journalists working in internet media to
enjoy same insurance coverage and working conditions, which needs to be
regulated by introducing legal adjustments.
Reactions to the strike have been very strong since ERT has repeatedly
gone to Court, demanding to declare the strikes illegal. On four occasions the Court ruled that journalists should return to work but did not declare
the strike demands were illegal, therefore the industrial actions will continue.
Contact: Dori Ralli, JUADN
