2004 EFJ Resolution on Employment Policies in Greek Public Broadcaster ERT

Tabled by Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH)

Noting:
that on March 31, 2004, ESIEMTH held a three-hour work stoppage in solidarity to the nationwide 24-hour strike declared by the Pan Hellenic Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), demanding for the signing of the National Collective Labour Charter,

that the propelling reason for ESIEMTH’s participation in the mobilizations is the great number of journalists working at the Greece's public broadcaster ERT, whose labour rights are being flagrantly violated;

that the majority of journalists employed by Greece’s public service broadcaster Hellenic Radio-Television S.A. (EÑÔ) and its regional station in Thessaloniki (ERT-3) are falsely identified as self-employed “independent contractors”, who work under continuous and renewable agreements of a maximum four-month duration;

that these journalists are in reality economically-dependent workers who do fulfil continuous and permanent needs of their employer by providing daily news coverage, abiding by a defined work schedule, covering specifically-assigned beats;

that these journalists may be fired without prior notice, without compensation, unemployment benefits, paid holidays or vacation time, and that they are paid at rates far below the scale governed by collective agreements.

that national legislation should adhere to European Community directives concerning matters of economically dependent work and that Laws and regulations governing the national and international labour sector should be enforced in order to safeguard the rights of those employed by public broadcasting stations, given that these state enterprises are being funded by public taxes,

Calls on the EFJ
To give its full support to ESIEMTH, the labour and trade union authorized to represent these journalists, and instructs the EFJ to undertake every possible action and exhaust all venues in order to counter this flagrant violation of national and international labour laws.