EFJ Supports Journalists’ Union in Difficult Talks at Greek Public Broadcaster ERT

Meeting today in Helsinki, the Steering Committee of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) backed the Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH) in their battle for secure positions of dozens of journalists who were hired in precarious conditions in Greek Public Broadcasting (ERT). 

“Journalists expect a public broadcaster to set standards”, said EFJ Chair Arne König, “and in this extent we hope that ERT will indeed respect social and professional rights of its short term staff, working under false contracts, and provide them with open end work agreements” 

A strike is foreseen on 1st November. The union is asking for the conversion of short-term false work contracts into permanent employment conditions and for avoiding new precarious conditions in the future. 

“As a strike is likely to take place in a couple of days to defend the status of ERT journalists, we hope that the management will be sensitive to the issue”, said Arne König. “This is all so more important that on-going short-term contracting is forbidden by European legislation and we hope that these journalists will be granted a secure future in the company that has been employing them so far”. 

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The EFJ represents more than 250,000 journalists in more than 30 countries