Workers of the Global Media Group (GMG) gathered today in front of the Jornal de Noticias headquarters in Porto to protest against delayed wages and subsidies, against the “destruction of the group” and in defense of democracy.
“This protest, this strike goes beyond the fight for our jobs, it is aimed at the future of the various publications of GMG, for free journalism and for democracy,” JN trade union delegate Augusto Correia explained to Luse.
In front of the Jornal de Notícias (JN) there are more than 60 GMG employees, including journalists and other employees of this publication and other publications of the group, which also owns the sports company O Jogo, the newspaper Açoriano Oriental, radio TSF, the magazine Evasões, Men’s Heatlh, Diário de Noticias and other publications.
In an internal statement on December 6, GMG’s executive committee announced that it would urgently negotiate redundancies with 150-200 workers and embark on a restructuring it said was necessary to avoid the group’s “more than foreseeable bankruptcy.”
The group also announced it would cease providing services from January, giving only a few hours’ notice.
“These so-called friendly layoffs, whose membership ends today, are nothing more than disguised layoffs that will destroy the group. That’s what we’re up against here. We still have our December salaries and our Christmas bonuses unpaid. We know when we receive it, our employees, who only received the month of October at the end of December, also do not know whether they will receive it,” explained the union leader.
The websites and social networks of Jornal de Notícias, Diário de Notícias, O Jogo or Dinheiro Vivo have been “stopped” since midnight, as has TSF, which only broadcasts music.
On its website, Diário de Notícias also said Thursday’s paper edition would not appear on newsstands due to the strike and would return on Friday.
The Union of Journalists today issued a strike notice that covers “all journalists, regardless of the media in which they work” from 14:00 to 15:00, “so that they can express their solidarity” with GMG workers and also “warn the political authorities and civil society about the situation in the media sector.”
In case of a late start, at 14:00, another gathering of GMG workers is planned in front of the “JN Tower” in Gonçalo Cristovan and a march to General Humberto Delgado Square, where they will demonstrate in front of the GMG building. Porto City Hall building.
In Lisbon, workers are concentrated on the steps of the Assembly of the Republic, while the Minister of Culture, Pedro Adan e Silva, in charge of social communications, gives clarification to the Committee for Culture, Communications, Youth and Sports.
After the minister leaves, journalists, technicians and other workers head to the Lisbon Towers to gather for a demonstration, which will begin at 14:00 near the GMG headquarters.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.