A rare strike in Italian public broadcasting: Raï journalists decided not to work this Monday, May 6 to denounce their working conditions but also a management increasingly following the orders of the hard right currently in power. The strike must last at least 24 hours.
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With our correspondent in Rome, Eric Senanque
For journalists and technicians at Rai, the unease is profound. It has already been several years since working conditions have deteriorated: precarious contracts, unreplaced maternity leave, lack of social dialogue, the public service media is suffering. But it is the change in tone in recent months from certain leaders and the interference on the group’s editorial line that led to this strike.
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Raffaele works at Rai News 24, the group’s news channel, and prefers to remain anonymous. “ The reasons why we are striking is firstly because of the suffocating control over journalistic work and the attempts to make Rai, our company, a “mouthpiece” of the government or the party in power. “, he summarizes.
Cases of censorship, such as that of the writer Antonio Scurati, who was prevented on April 25 from reading a text condemning fascism, or the threat on one of the main investigative broadcasts, have caused unrest and anger among employees of the Rai. It is Usigrai, the main public broadcasting union, with its 1,500 members, which is leading the revolt. A union attacked by Rai management which denounces a strike “ ideological “.
This Sunday, a Usigrai spot was broadcast to explain the reasons for the strike: “ we prefer to lose one or two days of salary rather than our freedom “, he explains, “ freedom and autonomy of public service are values that belong to everyone and Rai is for everyone », concludes the message.