OThis Thursday, journalists are on general strike. It is the first in more than 40 years (the last was in 1982) and was scheduled following the 5th Congress of Journalists, which took place in January this year, in Lisbon.
Low wages, precariousness and a growing degradation of working conditions are some of the reasons that led professionals to go ahead with the strike, marked by demonstrations across the country.
In Lisbon, for example, a gathering is scheduled for Largo de Camões, at 6pm. In Porto, at Praça Humberto Delgado, the demonstration begins at 12:00 pm, and in Coimbra the start was scheduled for 9:00 am.
“I expect a strong response because in fact precariousness is much higher than in most other sectors, salaries are increasingly lower, we have not had career progression repeatedly in the last 20 years”listed the president of the Journalists Union (SJ), Luís Simões, in statements to the Lusa agency, who announced that its “normal service” could “suffer disruptions” during the strike period – from 00:00 to 24:00 this Thursday.
In the strike’s statement of demands, which was published on the SJ website, it is argued that “job insecurity, along with low wages in the sector, is a serious obstacle to the full development of the journalism profession.”
“It is an obstacle to the very right of citizens to be informed freely”, continues the letter, where journalists demand “salary increases in 2024 higher than accumulated inflation since 2022 and substantial improvement in freelancers’ remuneration”The “guarantee of a decent salary upon entering the profession and regular career progression” It is “the payment of supplements for hardship, shift work and exemption from working hours”among several other claims that you can consult on the website.
In solidarity with the strike is the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), which said that it “accompanies the demands for which journalists are fighting”, in a sector “characterized by the dominance of large economic and financial groups and the high concentration of ownership of media outlets”.
Sonae’s chief development officer (CDO), João Günther Amaral, considered that the general strike by journalists is a “reflection of the challenge of reinvention” that media faces around the world.
“We understand that what is happening is a reflection of the enormous challenge that the media face today, not only in Portugal, but in Europe and the world, and that it is a challenge of reinvention, with everything that is happening happen at the level of digital platforms and the channeling of media that were invested in newspapers and that generated revenue for newspapers and other media, and which are being channeled elsewhere”, said the person in charge.
Read Also: CGTP “expresses full solidarity” with journalists’ strike
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