JE TO AJ O VÁS

JE TO AJ O VÁS Europe’s Media Unions Back the BBC Workforce in Battle Over Job Cuts A coalition of European media and entertainment trade unions today called on media staff throughout the European Union to support the workforce at the BBC, which is challenging management over plans to slash thousands of jobs. In a joint statement the European Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Actors, the International Federation of Musicians and UNI-MEI, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Sector of Union Network International, pledged to mobilise national media unions across Europe in support of BBC staff. The statement issued in Brussels said: The media workers of Europe – writers, journalists, performers, creators and technical and administrative staff in all sectors of media – support fully our BBC colleagues in their fight for jobs and social justice. We condemn BBC management plans to cut almost 4,000 jobs which, if they go ahead, will threaten the future of Europe’s leading public broadcaster and will damage its world-wide reputation for quality. We call on the European Union – the Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers – as well as the Council of Europe to recognise that the confrontation over the BBC has implications for the European model of public broadcasting. We fear that the BBC cuts will provoke private sector calls for moves against public broadcasters in other European Union countries, many of them which are already weakened by inadequate resources, lack of coherent regulation and a failure to establish structures for the independence of public broadcasting from the state. The campaign to save jobs at the BBC is in the interests of every European media worker. We call on all national unions to back BBC staff and to protest directly to the BBC Director General at mark.thompson@bbc.co.uk