Let us be solidary in the fight for workers' rights in the media!

(Patria) - on the occasion of International Workers' Day, the Management Board of the BH Journalists Association draws attention to the difficult labor, legal and social position of journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as unsafe working conditions and violations of the right to union organizing and action.

According to the latest BH Journalists survey, the majority of journalists have salaries that do not enable a dignified life, economic security and independence. For 24% of journalists, monthly earnings are below 1,000 convertible marks (KM), 56% earn between 1,000 and 2,000 KM per month, while only 2% have earnings above the amount of the union consumer basket.

Particularly concerning is the data that beginners and journalists at the end of their careers are the lowest paid, which in the long run makes the journalism profession less promising and one of the worst paid in BiH.

The Management Board of BH Journalists emphasizes that many journalists work without an adequate employment contract, some for up to 10 years, and employers do not pay pension and health insurance even in public media. The journalistic work week is most often over 40 working hours, without paid overtime and weekend work.

Journalists often do not have the right to legally prescribed annual leave, nor paid sick leave and other absences. Particularly concerning is the fact that the right to union organizing and action, the right to strike and other forms of legitimate struggle for workers' rights in the media are violated in the media.

In BiH, there is no representative and unified union of journalists, although legal possibilities exist for this in both BiH entities and the Brčko District. Only 16% of media outlets have union organizations, and only a few have a works council. Today, on International Workers' Day, the Management Board of BH Journalists calls on all journalists from BiH to worker solidarity, support and joint struggle for better-paid journalistic work, reduction of precariat in the media, as well as more social justice and legal protection, and the urgent formation of a journalists' union as a legitimate means of advocating and protecting the rights of media workers.