 As we have mentioned several times, the Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind has legal personality by Sentence no. 2782 of 12.04.2001, with members in Romanian Television Corporation, Radio Romania, AGERPRES and several media institutions. The organization was established on the basis of the Trade Union Law no. 54/1991 as a national trade union, consisting of several journalists from newsrooms in Bucharest and in the country, under the name of the Union of Professional Journalists - SJP. Moreover, on 13.04.2017 by sentence no. 3486/2017 remained final, merged by absorption with the National Television Company Union, TVR SIND, taking over the quality of unit union at the level of SRTV! These realities are confirmed by court rulings in several lawsuits lost by TVR, but also by the Ministry of Labor, which, in address no. 105/IM/07.08.2019 enshrined the right of MediaSind to represent its approximately 600 members of the National Television Company. (details here: the Ministry of Labor dismantles the diversions of the Romanian Television Corporation management!) The TVR management diversions, similar to those of the communist secret services, were also dismantled by Bucharest Territorial Labor Inspectorate, ITM, by recognizing and registering the addendum to the collective labor contract from SRTV, concluded based on the mandate given to the FAIR-MediaSind Federation by the same Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind and TVR Craiova Union, signed even by Doina Gradea! To claim now that you have signed a contract with an “illegitimate” organization at TVR level denotes not only inconsistency and hypocrisy, but also bad faith. (details here: The new rights won in the collective bargaining in TVR have entered into force!) Being aware of the legality of SRJ MediaSind's proceedings and, at the same time, abusively paying, out of public money, a law firm to persuade a court to stop a trade union from expressing itself freely and to represent its union members from TVR, this denotes the irresponsibility and despair of a manager who has long lost her sense of reality. No court in the world will be able to give a court ruling that violates freedom of expression, free affiliation and the right of trade unions to represent their members! We specify that the Romanian Television Corporation is no longer financed by the radio-tv tax but directly from the state budget, reason for which we consider that the provisions of Ordinance no. 26/2012, which prohibit public institutions from employing legal services, are applicable to it if they have legal departments. For this reason, we asked the management of SRTV, under Law No. 544, to make public the contract concluded with the law firm Zamfirescu - Racoti - Vasile & Partners, in order to find out the amount paid for the 4 (four) lawyers appointed by Empowerment No. 5078480 to "deal" with MediaSind. (see here: The
head of TVR hires four lawyers from public money to harass MediaSind!). Especially since, according to information in the press, the fee of a lawyer of this law firm, in which the father-in-law of the Minister of Justice, Catalin Predoiu(fot o), is located, is 90 euro plus VAT/hour!!! (details here: https://m.luju.ro//dezvaluiri/anchete/scump-dom-le-scump-lumeajustitiei-ro-prezinta-in-premiera-contractul-dintre-ministerul-mediului-si-sca-zamfirescu-racoti-predoiu-ministerul-plateste-90-euro-plus-tva-pe-ora-de-avocat-contractul) The same communiqué of June 26 states that our organization "acts, repeatedly, abusively, in fact undermining the activity of SRTV." "By constantly spreading false, unverified information, threats, incitement to hatred and revolt, MediaSind severely affects the image of the public television service, misleading employees of the institution and public opinion;" In other words, according to Doina Gradea, our organization's assumption of the role of public whistle-blower, the complaint of abuses and illegalities, the discretionary squandering of public funds, extremely real facts, proven by decisions of the Court of Auditors or in courts, damage the image of TVR. Unfortunately, the prestige of this institution is being damaged by the disastrous management of the current administration. It is well known that whoever has problems with the law, turns to lawyers. And it's normal to be like that in a democracy. But we do not understand why we, the Romanian people, have to pay the fee! Consequently, the Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind announces that it will not be intimidated by the abusive actions of the head of TVR and her accomplices, regardless of how many law firms will be employed and how many relatives of the Minister of Justice will contain them. Our organization will continue to be with the people it represents, in the spirit of the Constitution. We assure our TVR members that, in our future actions, we will ask for the support of national and international institutions - FAIR-MediaSind Federation, CNSLR-Brotherhood, International Federation of Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, EBU, International Labor Organization, Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Parliament, so that the employees' rights are respected even in the largest media institution of the Romanian state – the National Television Company. We also specify that MediaSind will refer the matter to the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, in the coming days, in order to verify these contracts concluded without the approval of the Steering Committee and the Board of Directors, as well as to investigate the activity of all those who produced a real institutionalized robbery in Romanian Television Corporation, which is also confirmed by several checks of the Court of Auditors: TVR management has abusively spent approximately 1.3 million euros on legal aid contracts!The Bucharest Court annulled the reductions of rights negotiated by the TVR management with the house union against the employees! The irresponsibility of the Gradea administration endangers the health of all TVR employees! TVR management obliged by the court to make preferential employments public! MediaSind TVR calls on political leaders to stop the disaster in TVR and to dismiss the current administration!The Bucharest Court obliges the Gradea administration to explain why it did not perform noxious determinations for all the risk factors from the National Television Company!Public warning to stop the adoption of the abusive Procedure regarding ethical conduct in TVR! The Gradea administration sued for secreting public spending during the state of emergency! How can TVR employees be fired if they violate the Ethical Conduct Procedure! SRJ MediaSind requested in court the annulment of the new Code of Ethics which, in fact, masks a procedure for dismissal of uncomfortable employees of TVR!
The CNSLR-Brotherhood Confederation supports protests against the abuses of the head of TVR! RSJ MediaSind Communication Department Bucharest, June 29, 2020 TVR head hires four lawyers with public money to harass MediaSind! Public money abuses in the Romanian Television Corporation seem to never end! Although GEO no. 26/2012 prohibits all public authorities and institutions that have their own legal personnel in the organizational structure, to purchase legal services of advice, assistance and/or representation, in Romanian Television Corporation it is not respected! The President-Director General Doina Gradea, again violating the legal provisions and pursuing the harassment and intimidation of our organization, hired 4 (four) lawyers from the Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners law firm!!! (photo). They have already notified the Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind, asking them to "immediately cease any action against the underwritten, respectively to refrain from publishing in any form unfounded/untrue information regarding the activity of the Romanian Television Corporation". Moreover, the law firm threatens that otherwise, "we will resort to all legal means to cover the damages caused to the underwritten by your illegal actions". At the same time, SRTV, through these lawyers, sued SRJ MediaSind in court so that the court no longer gives the right to the Union to represent its members from the Public Television! It is hallucinatory in 2020 to ban the right of a national trade union organization to represent its affiliated members of an institution, before the employer or in relation to public authorities, in contempt of the Romanian Constitution, ILO Conventions and European directives on free trade union association. The action of TVR head is meant to strike directly at the right of the employees of SRTV to be represented by an honest trade union organization, not enslaved to the management. Doina Gradea and her acolytes ignore, however, the provisions of our Constitution, which enshrines the right to free affiliation, but also ILO conventions, EU directives on free association, the Social Dialogue Law, but also the final sentences obtained in court that give MediaSind the right to represent the union members from the Romanian Television Corporation. In fact, even the Ministry of Labor, through an official position, enshrines the legality of MediaSind in TVR. Moreover, Doina Gradea ignores the fact that at the end of last year she signed with the FAIR-MediaSind Federation and the employees' representatives, an additional act to the Collective Labor Agreement, based exactly on the mandate granted by the Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind and TVR Craiova Union. All documents, including the representation mandate and the documents of SRJ MediaSind have been verified by Bucharest Territorial Labor Inspectorate, and the additional act has legal effects starting with January 1, 2020! Through her incoherent actions, the head of TVR questions all the rights obtained through the document she signed herself with the social partners, including the conscience clause, holiday vouchers, 10 basic salaries in case of dismissals for reasons not related to the person of the employee, the permanent adjustment of the minimum gross basic salary per company in relation to the minimum gross national salary so that it is always 5 percent higher than the minimum gross national salary guaranteed in payment, the granting of meal vouchers and holiday vouchers to the maximum provided by law, 230 lei/day - accommodation allowance, granting inflation compensation amounts for 2019 and for 2020. The Romanian Journalists Union MediaSind announces that it will not be intimidated by the illegal actions of the TVR head and her accomplices. Our organization will continue to be with the people it represents and will ask for support from national and international institutions: FAIR-MediaSind Federation, CNSLR-Brotherhood, International Federation of Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, EBU, International Organization of Labor, the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Parliament. These international organizations and institutions will be informed about the way in which the ILO conventions and the European directives in the field of the trade union freedom are observed, in the largest press institution of the Romanian state – the National Television Company. Unfortunately, the complicity that exists between the executive management and some decision-makers in SRTV, has caused the notifications, the alarm cries of SRTV employees, including those of our organization, to stop the abuses in the institution, to be blocked, which is why MediaSind was forced to numerous national and international public reactions, that greatly disturbed the Gradea administration and its acolytes. RSJ MediaSind Communication Department Bucharest, June 26, 2020 |
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