Greek journalists’ unions declared today a 24-hour nationwide strike. The action suspended news bulletins on television and radio and froze online updates. Newspapers were not published on Wednesday due to the walkout. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) fully supports the strike and the call by its Greek affiliates for better working conditions and collective labour agreements.
Today’s 24-hour strike is supported by EFJ affiliates in Greece, JUADN, ESIEMTH, PFJU and PEPU-ESPIT. They demand a new collective bargaining agreement, with a minimum starting salary of €1,250, 10% wage hikes, pay for weekend shifts, and higher daily allowances for assignments in conflict zones or natural disaster areas. “We call on the employers’ associations to abandon intransigence and to cooperate to finally regulate, after 15 whole years, the disstructured working landscape in the media that holds journalists and the freedom of the press hostage,” the unions said in a joint statement.
“Greek journalists are on strike to bring media owners to the negotiating table,” said Antonis Repanas, Greek member of the EFJ Steering Committee. “The media sector in Greece has gone 17 years without collective agreements, journalists’ salaries remain low, and working conditions are completely deregulated. Journalists have set out 11+1 fair demands to be included in collective bargaining, including anti-SLAPP regulations, fair remuneration for authors’ rights, legislative changes to enable a collective agreement for all public media, as well as fair pay and secure jobs for journalists in the private sector”.
The EFJ joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in calling on the Greek Ministry of Labor and Social Security to take initiatives to ensure that free collective bargaining thrives in the journalism sector as well, by signing Collective Labor Agreements.
“The Greek government has an obligation to promote social dialogue and collective bargaining in the media sector, through the transposition of the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages,” said Maja Sever, EFJ President. “EU Member States where the collective bargaining coverage rate is below 80% need to launch a national action plan to promote collective agreements. It is high time for the Greek authorities to take action. The EFJ calls on the Greek government to put pressure on employers to sit at the table and to ensure that the right to collective bargaining is fully respected for all journalists, including self-employed workers and freelancers”.
Source: EFJ
