Imprint journalists' association demands wage increase for journalists
In a resolution unanimously adopted on Friday in Martigny (VS), the journalists' association Impressum has called for a wage hearing for journalists. It also insists on the resumption of negotiations for a collective labor agreement.
The Corona crisis showed "what an important role journalists play in society," the association wrote in a statement.
"They provide fact-based information at a time when the public is increasingly exposed to unverified sources of information and unfounded rumors." This, he says, is what makes public opinion based on verified facts possible in the first place.
To ensure high journalistic quality, well-trained female journalists are needed. However, training is not rewarded with an adequate salary, Impressum continues to write. Rather, journalists are "at the lower end of the income scale of people with university degrees." Raising salaries is thus a prerequisite for ensuring the quality of journalistic information in the long term.
In addition, the Imprint delegates are calling on the VSM publishers' association to resume negotiations on a collective labor agreement (CLA). There has been no CLA for media workers in German-speaking Switzerland for years.
Media freedom threatened
Imprint also sees media freedom in Switzerland under threat. In June, the Council of States had adopted an amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure with far-reaching consequences for media freedom. It lowered the hurdle for measures "directed against the publication of journalistic reports.
Therefore, the Journalists' Association urges the Legal Commission of the National Council to adopt the version of the Federal Council and not that of the Council of States.
In its statement, the association also regrets the referendum launched at the end of June against the media package passed by parliament in the summer session. This package provides for financial support for the media of around CHF 178 million - including online media, which is a first, according to Imprint. (SDA)
