STA, 20 June 2022 - The in-house trade unions at RTV Slovenija will go on strike between 2pm and 11pm after talks on their demands following the 23 May strike brought no progress. The management is meanwhile surprised that the staff will resume the May strike, arguing that a number of proposals had been offered to implement the strike demands.
Before the strike, Culture Minister Asta Vrečko, whose ministry is in charge of media policy, will give a statement to the press about the situation at RTV Slovenija.
The new government has announced to change media legislation, including the RTV Slovenija law, to eliminate the influence of politics on the public broadcaster.
The trade unions claim the talks with the management have brought no progress on journalistic, editorial and institutional autonomy, changes to staffing policy and a raise in the lowest wages, their main demands.
As part of today's strike a rally will be held at 7pm in Republic Square, across the street from the National Assembly, to urge action from decision makers.
The public broadcaster's Programme Council will meanwhile meet to decide on its approval of sport journalist Urban Laurenčič's candidacy for TV Slovenija director.
The broadcaster's TV arm has been without a full-fledged director since Natalija Gorščak was dismissed last August.
The council will also discuss the management's proposal to severely reduce the network of correspondents abroad, a move strongly opposed by the staff and journalist organisations.
A day before the strike, the management urged the trade unions to cancel the strike to prevent the damage it would cause to the broadcaster, arguing it had offered to address all strike demands in a strike agreement.
The unions responded by saying the strike will go on as planned, adding that some strike demands had been addressed in the talks but not the main ones. They labelled director general Andrej Grah Whatmough's latest appeal and offer to sign the strike agreement by Monday 10am as an ultimatum and another attempt at preventing the strike.
