The beginning of the year, in the television sector, it is not the best for Silvio Berlusconi. Because on 10th January has started the strike of Videotime, RTI and
industrial electronics (all companies in the Mediaset group) workers to protest
against the transfer of the business unit covering the compartment of hairdressers and makeup artists. For the first time in the history of this industrial group, 3800 workers were on strike.
2010 had to be the year of celebrations, because of Canale 5 tv 30 years of broadcast. Instead it opened with a two-day strike (the tenth and the eleventh) to avoid the tailoring, makeup and hairstyle areas are outsourced to the company Pragma service. The strike has stirred the
waters of the Prime Minister companies, because many people are afraid that this
first outsourcing of services, carried out until now by employees, may also
involve other areas of the group. First of all, the journalism area. Already in December came the news that TG4, Tgcom and Studio Aperto journalists will no longer be employees of their individual heading but of an "information agency" that should provide
material to the whole group.
The editorial committee of TG5, one of the few groups in safety, expressed its solidarity to the colleagues of the make-up industry and in a press release they shared "the
concern expressed by Videotime-Mediaset colleagues that the draft sale
of this business segment will be the beginning of a process of award of
contract work, which could involve other sectors, locations or
activities of the Mediaset group."
This morning,
some workers protested outside the headquarters in Cologno Monzese and outside the Videotime (a company active in television production group
Mediaset) heardquarter in Rome. The video program could have serious rebounds, but so far nothing has changed. Maybe because, as the union leader Paolo Casamassima, delegate of Slai Cobas, complained to the newspaper Corriere della Sera, in the company "have been seen entering employees of other companies that we believe have been used to perform the duties of striking workers."
Despite Mediaset has ensured
that this takeover will not involve any effect on pay and contractual
conditions of the people involved, the 56 employees at risk (mostly
women) said they will suffer an
immediate economic loss - reduced wages, loss of all
company benefits - but especially a first step towards insecurity and
possible loss of jobs.
The workers at risk have also written a letter to Silvio Berlusconi to demand his help to prevent this transfer. Until now, however, they have not received any answer. So in tough times for those who work but with a precarious job, for those in danger of losing it and for those who cannot find it, we can only express solidarity
with the workers of the makeup becuase thanks to their work, Berlusconi's company is able to broadcast so many programs that distract us from
the real and harsh reality.
Marianna Lepore
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Comments