site.btaUnion of Bulgarian Journalists Backs Protest of BTA, National Television and National Radio Staffers

The Governing Board of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) on Friday expressed its unqualified support for the employees of National Television (BNT), National Radio (BNR) and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), who held a protest in downtown Sofia the day before, demanding decent pay and decent working conditions.

The UBJ said in a media statement that the protest did not come as a surprise because it resulted from many years of disregard for the professionals who are at the forefront of unbiased, high-quality journalism in Bulgaria.

The UBJ called for making the journalists’ average wages equal to those of the administrators while taking account of the specific nature of journalistic work and the responsibility associated with it.

As a professional organization with trade-unionist functions, the UBJ favours streamlining expenditures in the public service media but holds that this should be carried out transparently and effectively and by setting priority on the quality of the journalistic product and the welfare of the employees. Expenditure cuts should not come at the expense of those staff members who create content and ensure that the public service media can implement their mission.

The Union urged a detailed public analysis of the size of the administrative staff compared to the number of employees who create the content of the public service media.

A call by the trade union chapters at BNT, BNR and BTA to raise content-creators’ wages by at least 15% was described by the UBJ as reasonable and vital. The Union welcomed an invitation extended to the Finance Ministry to participate in an emergency meeting to discuss possibilities for effecting the above-mentioned pay rise but pointed to the need for an objective analysis of expenditures and priorities.

The UBJ Governing Board urged the National Assembly Culture and Media Committee, the Council for Electronic Media and the management of the public service media to show reason and responsibility for the professionals who ensure that the right of Bulgarian citizens to receive reliable and quality information is guaranteed every day. The Board insisted on prompt actions to ensure fair remuneration, decent welfare and long-term stability of the journalistic profession in the public service media. It called for concrete, urgent actions not just for the survival but also for the development of free, unbiased and responsible journalism in Bulgaria.