A group of 40 green-ticket workers at Global Media publications announced on Tuesday that they were suspending their work for an indefinite period due to lack of payment, Lusa confirmed at the Union of Journalists (SJ).
According to a union source, these employees have not received their salaries for two months.
According to an email sent by these employees, to which Lusa had access, it is “a group of about 40 journalists, photojournalists and printers of environmental checks who today suspended their collaboration with Jornal de Notícias, Notícias Magazine, O Jogo, Volta ao Mundo, TSF and Diário de Notícias for an indefinite period.”
This break is due to the fact that payments for April and May have not yet been received, without the “Global Media Group administration.” [GMG] has put forward any justification for this over the past months, despite constant attempts to contact and requests for clarification.”
The employees also worked in June, but the salary for this month is usually paid in August, since their salaries are paid two months later.
“The decision to stop work was communicated to the administration last Thursday, July 11, unless the relevant amounts were paid by yesterday, the 15th, which did not happen,” the workers stated in the letter they sent.
“This situation affects around 130 journalists, photojournalists and green card printers who feel disrespected because they are not being paid for the work they do and are outraged by the silence of the administration,” they continue, noting that “in recent months there have been several advances in the completion dates of the sale of Jornal de Notícias, JN História, O Jogo, Volta ao Mundo, Notícias Magazine, Evasões, TSF, N-TV and Delas, but this has not happened.”
They note that “it was necessary to reach this point for Global Media management to respond and act on individual requests for clarification shortly after receiving” the “email” announcing the suspension.
But, “despite this, in these individual responses, the payment of the debts to us depends on the completion of the transaction with the new Notícias Ilimitadas group, when we know that it has already transferred around four million euros, also for the purpose of paying us, an obligation that the administrators of Global Media have not fulfilled,” they note.
“We are aware that our shutdown will impact the work of our colleagues, editors and management, which we regret, but we felt we had no alternative but to stop and raise awareness of the existence of this problem that affects us financially and psychologically,” they emphasize.
They say they hope “that outstanding payments will be cleared quickly” and that “the deal with the Notícias Ilimitadas group will be concluded.”