TSF workers on 24-hour strike accuse management of ‘disrespect’

TSF workers gathered this Wednesday outside the radio building in Lisbon on the day of a 24-hour strike, accusing the management of the Global Media Group of “disrespect” for their specialists.

“Respect is really what the workers are asking for,” TSF worker representative Filipe Santa Barbara told Lusa, warning that the first reason was because “in the last two months [a administração] delaying the payment of wages” without any warning or justification.

The second reason, which led to the first strike in the 35 years of TSF radio, was due to the fact that “after several months of negotiations through the Union of Journalists about salary adjustments due to inflation,” the administration did not react.

He continues: “We decided to approve management’s proposal even though it was not in line with what the workers wanted, but since management intended to implement these measures across the group and other brands in the group did not accept this,” we never had a response for negotiations,” which, however, was not rejected by STS employees.

The third reason for the request for “respect” relates to the fact that the previous director of information, Domingos de Andrade, who “always fought for editorial autonomy and defended this newsroom, left overnight,” the TSF employee representative emphasized.

“We only found out from the statement. A new director was appointed, which we also learned from the application, contrary to what is provided for in the law, namely in the Charter of a journalist, which provides for consultation of the editorial office upon dismissal or appointment, and we arrived [assim] to the point where you have to ask for respect with a 24-hour strike here at the radio station,” he said.