MJA and International Journalists’ Federation Seminar

Defending journalists’ social and professional rights

The Macedonian Journalists’ Association in cooperation with the International Journalists’ Federation, has organized a two-day seminar called “Journalists’ associations and trade unions defend the journalists’ social and professional rights”, as part of the series of seminars that take place within the International Journalists’ Association project on the role of journalists in the process of defending their social and professional rights, which is a CARDS projects realized in Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. The journalists have stated a number of significant problems which have a direct impact on their profession here in Macedonia, especially the need of establishing a journalists’ trade union in Macedonia, since the journalists are still represented by GIFIH – a compilation of trade unions for several different professions (graphic designers, film industry workers, information service workers and paper producers). In this occasion, the journalists unanimously agreed on the need of strengthening the trade union movement among the journalists in Macedonia, and if possible, guiding it by a single journalsists’ trade union, which would protect their rights, in the interest of bigger professional and social rights.

The need of collective agreements is also essential, concluded the journalists, since in Macedonia, such an agreement exists only for the employees in the Macedonian National Television, while the other journalists cannot call upon collective agreements within their media. Because of that, the first task of the new trade union, besides raising the awareness for gathering in trade unions and the need for joint fight for bigger rights, would be the fight for signing collective agreements on a medium level.

The seminar was attended by representatives from the International Journalists’ Federation, the Croatian trade union and the Croatian Journalists’ Association, who shared their experiences regarding the trade unions’ fight and associating in trade unions of the journalists in Croatia and in Europe.

 

G. J.