No money, no security: Journalists forced to do more jobs

More and more journalists are working in uncertain jobs, with „loose contracts“, low and irregular salaries and they are often forced to do other jobs in addition to journalism, according to a survey of the Serbian Journalists’ Union (SINOS).

President of the trade union, Dragana Cabarkapa, called on journalists’ associations and trade unions in the media to jointly create a platform for establishing social dialogue that will lead to the signing of a special branch collective agreement, the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) reported.

The members of SINOS also requested a joint meeting at which the basic document for negotiations with media owners would be agreed.

„It is difficult to agree in a space where journalists are divided and opposed, where employers prohibit trade union organization, and they themselves flee from association and negotiation with employee representatives, and where the state is silent on all of this,“ said Cabarkapa in Belgrade, at a rally on the occasion of 20 years of the existence of SINOS.

She added that salaries were not regular everywhere and that 70 percent of journalists received salaries lower than the average in Serbia, and that the situation was the worst in the local media.

“Eight hours of working time – that is a dream for them, because they work ten hours a day. They do not do one job, but more jobs, because they do not only write for the print media but also for online editions,“ said Cabarkapa.

Izvor: Beta

Foto: BIZLife