Journalists from Italian public broadcaster RAI went on strike on Monday in protest against the “oppressive control” of the right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni. They face headwinds from their own leadership.
RAI union Usigrai complained about attempts by politicians to “turn the RAI into a mouthpiece for the government”. There are also protests due to a lack of staff. The broadcaster has been accused of failing to replace staff who are retiring, leaving the workload on the shoulders of those who remain. The association also complains about the lack of agreements between the company and journalists about performance bonuses. “We would rather accept a loss of salary than lose our freedom,” Usigrai said in the press release.
The management of the RAI is critical of protests
The RAI management responded that the strike had been called for reasons that had nothing to do with workers’ rights. He was “ideologically and politically motivated”. The accusation of ‘censorship’ is untenable. Public tenders are underway for the recruitment of journalists. “Optimization processes” are needed to get the best out of the existing workforce, the report said.
The RAI journalists’ protest is supported by the Democratic Party (PD), the strongest opposition party. The Social Democratic Party complained about an attempt by the RAI management to discredit the union.
Political job handler
Political influence over the RAI is a long-standing problem in Italy. Successive governments in Rome awarded top positions there to trusted people. The members of the board of directors, who are appointed by parliament and the government, are selected based on their party affiliation. Proposals to make the public television broadcaster more independent have been discussed for years, but have never led to results.
Since Meloni came to power in 2022, several senior executives and star presenters have left RAI due to alleged government interference in their work. The RAI management and Meloni were often confronted with accusations of censorship. The RAI leadership was recently criticized for briefly excluding the writer and Mussolini expert Antonio Scurati from a political talk show on public television. The writer is critical of the Meloni government.
Source: Krone
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