Ljijana’s case wasn’t an isolated one. Around 135 media professionals were working on short-term, casual and precarious contracts for many years at RTV – decades, in the case of Ljijana. A SINOS’ campaign, backed by IFJ as part of its Union to Union (UTU) project, exposed the unjust working conditions experienced by these journalists and media workers.
“After two decades, I have won my fight for the right to paid vacation, sick leave, and other rights guaranteed by law that workers get after establishing an employment relationship in Serbia,” explains RTV journalist and SINOS union member, Ljijana.
“All those rights I deserved with my hard work and commitment to my job, but I couldn’t find the strength and determination to reclaim them until I sought advice from SINOS. They explained my rights and, with the IFJ, encouraged me to fight for them”.
SINOS took the lead in Ljijana’s case, which was affecting another 135 media professionals at RTV. After realising they were subjected to similar precarious working conditions, they decided to reclaim together their employment rights. Unity makes strength.
The union’s representatives met with RTV media professionals early November 2023 and decided to send a letter to the country’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to resolve the unlawful situation. On 10 November, 2023, the country’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, the employer RTV and the union agreed to settle the precarious employment.
“My activism in SINOS was the spark that initiated the solving of the problems for precarious workers that affected more than a hundred colleagues in our media company. I learned that only by uniting can we fight against illegalities in the system. My message to every worker is that our strength is in the unions. The more of us there are and the more united we are, the more chances we have to fight for our labour rights,” states Ljijana.
By late December 2023, thirteen media professionals had signed open-ended contracts with their employer RTV. Thirty more followed in February 2024, and ten more in the month of April.
According to the agreement between SINONS, RTV leadership and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, the remaining media employees will receive enduring contracts by the end of 2024. All thanks to workers’ determination to join their union and a groundbreaking agreement won by SINOS.
“With my union colleagues, I will do everything we can to make it so,” claims Ljijana.
The IFJ worked with the Syndicate of journalists of Serbia (SINOS) and other unions in the Western Balkans in the project "Digital Organising - CEE" from 2018 to 2022, in partnership with Union to Union and the Swedish Union of Journalists.