Tunisia-General Federation of Media calls government to examine sector’s problems

The General media Federation requested the government presidency on Wednesday in a declaration for a critical working session to review the accumulated problems that may worsen the social situation in the sector.

The Federation restates its dedication to protecting its members by all legal means if their needs are not met, including by organizing a general strike.

It also affirmed its  “surprise” at the tenacity of overlooking agreements signed in Tunisian radio and television establishments, both centrally and regionally.

The Federation also refers to the non-application of the agreement concerning the revision of the statute of the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) agency, more than a year after it was signed.

A situation, which according to the Federation, creates social tensions within these establishments.

The Federation, moreover, condemned the refusal of the government to apply the ruling to attach Radio Zitouna to the public service, the slowness in resolving the problems of “Shems FM” and the ambiguity surrounding the transfer of this radio station and the “Dar Assabah” establishment.

The Federation also denounced the excesses committed within the Cactus Prod company and the violation of the rights of civil servants in all the confiscated establishments.

In this context, It criticized the slowness in the implementation of measures to preserve the written and electronic press, announced by the previous government. It is, in particular, a question of equitably distributing the subsidies, revising the circular of public subscriptions and creating a public advertising agency.

The Federation records in this regard the persistence of corruption within the company Snipe-La Presse.

It also criticised the absence of social security coverage and the payment of wages on time, as well as the violation of union rights in certain establishments benefiting from printing contracts with the ministries of education and finance.

Regarding the press officers, the Federation called on the presidency of the government to apply the agreement on the regularization of precarious situations and to speed up the examination of the draft statute for this professional category.