RTS head of television and head of human resources leave company after allegations
Following the investigation into allegations of harassment at the French-speaking Swiss radio and television station RTS, the TV editor-in-chief and the head of the human resources department are leaving the station. SRG Director General Gilles Marchand and RTS head Pascal Crittin are allowed to stay. SRG's top management promises a comprehensive cultural change.
The SRG Board of Directors expressed its confidence in Marchand and Crittin. The then RTS Director Marchand had "not sufficiently exercised" his "secondary supervisory responsibility", said SRG Board of Directors Chairman Jean-Michel Cina on Friday at a virtual media conference. However, in the assessment of the experts, this does not represent a "serious error".
The Board of Directors was therefore of the opinion that Marchand was the right person for SRG to implement the required changes in the corporate culture. The current RTS Director Crittin could not be accused of any misconduct. There was therefore no need for action.
Marchand himself, who was RTS director at the time of the majority of the incidents described, said in response to the question of whether he was the right man to implement the cultural change that it was not his decision. The Board of Directors obviously trusted him to do so. Marchand did, however, apologize for the fact that in 2014, following allegations of bullying, he had not conducted the investigation that had been initiated for long enough.
Cina regrets and apologizes
Cina also began his remarks by expressing deep regret for each and every case of harassment and asked the victims to apologize. Zero tolerance would be a high strategic priority for the Group in the future. The fact that fewer allegations were substantiated than originally described should not change the seriousness of the investigations and the future handling of the harassment problem, he said. "Every case is one too many.
Therefore, in the wake of the harassment affair, the management team of the French-speaking Swiss radio and television station RTS will in future have to complete a mandatory training program by name. Failure to comply with the new regulations will result in sanctions.
The SRG Board of Directors will decide on definitive measures once the final report on the first investigation into the effectiveness of the internal instruments is available, said SRG Board Member Ursula Gut-Wintersberger. In the future, there will be confidants in each department who can approach those affected if necessary.
No misconduct with moderator Rochebin
On October 31, the French-speaking Swiss newspaper Le Temps citing anonymous sources, revealed that bullying and sexual harassment had occurred within RTS for years. In the research, the interviewees reported open harassment, unwanted kisses, lewd comments and systematic abuse of power.
Three employees were accused, including Darius Rochebin, longtime star presenter of the RTS daytime news. The management and the personnel managers of RTS had consistently looked the other way. Rochebin, who moved to the French news channel LCI in the fall, meanwhile filed libel charges against Le Temps one.
The independent experts appointed by SRG have now concluded that Rochebin was not guilty of sexual harassment or bullying. Rochebin welcomes the seriousness of the investigations conducted in Switzerland, his lawyer said Friday in Paris. The conclusions confirmed what his client had said from day one: he was innocent. (SDA)
