CANARIAN TV NEWS WORKERS SET TO STRIKE

Socialists demand service guarantee from government

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Thursday April 8 2010

NEARLY 300 staff at Canarian TV news provider Videoreport Canarias are set to strikes after pay negotiations broke down on Thursday.

by JAMES TWEEDIE

The 288 employees at the company – which provides news programming for regional public service broadcaster RTVC – will walk out in a dispute over pay on April 13, 14, 20 and 21, followed by an indefinite stoppage from May 4, if management does not re-open negotiations.

The company's board of directors wants to impose an 18-month pay freeze, with no wage increases in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation until June 2011.

The firm said that it regretted the measure, but that it was necessary in order to guarantee 243 permanent jobs.

But staff representatives at Videoreport said that the move was “invalid” and that management had refused to resume negotiations, instead imposing the freeze without agreement.

Opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) regional MP and Radiotelevisión Canaria (RTVC) Control Commission member Gloria Gutiérrez (pictured) demanded that the government act to guarantee news brogramming.

She announced that the PSOE had suggested a series of initiatives to parliament designed to clarify the deficiencies of the agreement between RTVC and Videoreport on staff terms and conditions.

Ms Gutiérrez said: "In this situation of chaos and irregularities, the director of the public agency and [regional president] Paulino Rivero continue to look the other way.

“It is obvious that the government is not able to ensure news services even within the €18 million annual budget for Videoreport."

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