Below is a statement from the executive board of the Journalists’ union of Athens daily newspapers (the union in Thrace and Macedonia follows the same line). Industrial actions are foreseen as follows:
1. Thursday 29 September, 6 hours stoppage from 17:00 to 23:00 hours
2. Wednesday 5 October, 24 hours strike
Journalists Union of the Athens Daily Newspaper
Athens, 27 September 2011
The government in compliance with troika guidelines for the reduction of the Greek public sector has come up with the device of employment reserves, meaning in essence dismissal from work within a certain time limit.
On the other hand just to make their intentions clear, they have employed private companies to evaluate workers using ambiguous criteria to determine redundant staff and thus, abolishing the chain of command they have established.
This way, thousands of workers after many years of work will be left unemployed.
In terms of ERT (national public broadcaster), APE-MPE (national public news agency) and Municipal Radio Stations this particular government policy, means giving away news information to speculating private interests.
Redundant staff of employment reserves, constitutes an act of reducing the voice of public media and decreasing their quality.
By previously illegally transforming ERT and APE-MPE into some sort of PCO – Public Companies and Organizations proves they have another aim as well, that of applying the employment reserves system to affect our colleagues working in those media, thus in essence another act of introducing collective staff lay-offs and dramatically reducing the number of jobs in public news media.
The JUADN Executive Board calls upon the administration of all public news media and of course on our colleagues who bear responsibility by being directors, not to submit lists of redundant staff to the ministry.
Finally, the Executive Board calls upon colleagues working in ERT, APE-MAPE and Municipal Radio Stations, to be on their guard and in co-ordination with sister Federations and Unions decided to defend employment and survival of public news media by going on a 6-hour work stop in ERT and APE-MAPE on Thursday 29 September starting 17:00 to 23:00 hours and on a 24 hour strike on Wednesday 5 October.
The Executive Board