In a spirit of solidarity, colleagues from Romanian Television, AGERPRES, the Spiru Haret Federation in Education, SANITAS, FNS GAUDEAMUS, and members of the CNSLR-Frăția Confederation joined the protest rally in front of the SRR headquarters in Bucharest.
The Culture and Mass Media Federation FAIR-MediaSind, along with affiliated organizations with members in the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (SRR)—the Romanian Union of Journalists MediaSind and the National Culture Union FAIR—organized a protest rally today, October 28, 2024, in front of the SRR headquarters on General Berthelot Street, no. 62-64, starting at 1:00 p.m. Members from the two national organizations from Bucharest, Radio Iași, Radio Cluj, and Radio Tg Mureș participated.
Additionally, SRR employees who were forbidden by subservient managers from attending the rally in Bucharest held protest actions during their lunch breaks in front of the SRR’s regional offices, as was the case with colleagues from Radio Craiova. The action was authorized by the Bucharest City Hall.
In solidarity, colleagues from the Romanian Television Society, the National News Agency AGERPRES, as well as representatives from federations affiliated with the CNSLR-Frăția Confederation, the Spiru Haret Federation in Education, SANITAS, FNS GAUDEAMUS, and other colleagues from the confederation, together with Secretary-General Adrian Negoiță, participated in the protest action.
FAIR-MediaSind leaders Leonard Octavian Pădureț, President, and Cristi Godinac, Executive President, explained to the demonstrators the dire situation SRR employees are facing, highlighting the continued blatant wage discrepancies between managers and subordinates due to the unjustified refusal of SRR President-Director General Răzvan Ioan Dincă to negotiate a Collective Labor Agreement at standards similar to those of the Romanian Television Society.
They also announced that strike actions will continue at Radio Romania, with a one-day strike scheduled for November 5, 2024, between midnight and 11:59 p.m. Should demands remain unaddressed, indefinite strike actions will follow. Lastly, they pointed to SRR’s desperate attempts to leverage certain union allies within SRR against employees’ right to a Collective Labor Agreement that meets European standards.
Attention was drawn to the fact that funds allocated by the government in the recent budget adjustment were not used as promised by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to eliminate wage disparities between SRR and TVR employees and between managers and subordinates; only a few crumbs were distributed to quell strike actions.
Demonstrators wore black T-shirts with messages such as “Respect for Culture 
and Media Workers,” “Stand Up for Romanian Culture and Mass-Media Workers,” as well as messages exposing SRR management’s salaries and criticizing the SRR leadership. The management of the institution was heavily booed by the demonstrators, with insistent calls for the resignation of SRR President-Director General Răzvan Ioan Dincă and his main allies.
Efforts by the SRR leadership, led by President-Director General Răzvan Ioan Dincă, to stop the strikes through intimidation, manipulation, and threats against those who dared to sign for strike actions were unsuccessful. Except for a few individuals who yielded to the pressure, over 300 brave colleagues decided to continue their strike actions to secure a Collective Labor Agreement that matches the standards of the Romanian Television Society, which operates under the same organizing law as SRR.
Consequently, as per the decisions of members affiliated with the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company—the Romanian Union of Journalists MediaSind and the National Culture Union FAIR—a general strike will be held on November 5, 2024, for one day, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. Employees who wish to join the more than 300 colleagues who have already signed the strike action lists may do so by October 31, 2024, through their union group leaders or by signing the attached documents and sending them to grevasrr@mediasind.ro. Further protest actions will follow depending on the outcome of this strike.
Dear colleagues, do not be afraid; the strike actions are legal and protected by the Romanian Constitution, the Social Dialogue Law, the Labor Code, as well as ILO Conventions and European directives on collective bargaining. Standing with you are the most important national and international organizations to which FAIR-MediaSind is a full member—the CNSLR-Frăția Confederation, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Musicians, the International Federation of Actors, UNI GLOBAL Union, UNI-MEI, and the European Federation of 
Journalists.
FAIR-MediaSind Communication Department
Bucharest, October 28, 2024
