Romanian TV Staffers Protest Over Planned Layoffs

Around 500 staffers at the cash-strapped public television station, TVR, protested on Monday against management plans to axe around a third of the company’s employees to reduce costs.

They also attacked what they called the “politicization of the restructuring” of the TV station, as the evaluation committee that is to select employees who will leave TVR includes member of the current government.

TVR plans to shed 872 employees following an evaluation of the professional performances of all the 3,300 staff.

“We want any sackings to be done correctly but we don’t trust most of the people who will take this measure," one protester said.

"Why must only journalists pay for the current situation? The majority of the board is still made up of the people under whose supervision the disaster at TVR occurred,” he added.

Media analysts agree that reform of public television is necessary, but say it has to be done without political interference.

“We are concerned about the way the restructuring is going on. The fact that politicians are evaluating journalists is against any principle of editorial independence,” Mircea Toma, from the media watchdog ActiveWatch, says.

Excessive numbers of employees, poor or unbalanced political shows, and outdated equipment are only some of the problems affecting the national broadcaster, reports say.

The company is in dire straits financially and recently closed one of its TV channels, TVR Info. It plans to close down another, TVR Cultural.

Around 70 per cent of TVR’s money comes from publicity, transmission fees and TV licenses paid for by users. The rest of the money comes from the state budget, which makes it dependent on the generosity of the governing parties.