FAIR-MediaSind suspends protest actions, following signing of Agreement with Ministry of Culture and National Identify

The FAIR-MediaSind Federation of Culture and Mass Media decided to suspend the strike movements scheduled to be set off in the upcoming period, upon consultations with affiliated organisations regarding the signing of the Agreement with the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and National Identity (MCIN) and the FAIR-MediaSind Federation of Culture and Mass Media, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES. 

The agreement was signed by Culture and National Identity Minister George Ivascu, the general secretary of state of the Ministry, secretaries of state, and by the President of FAIR-MediaSind, Leonard Paduret, alongside Cristinel Godinac, Executive President. 

The agreement stipulates that the parties will initiate the necessary demarches in view of completing and amending the Uniform Pay Law for the budget personnel no. 153/2017, in terms of the elimination of wage cuts that occurred as of 1 January 2018, as well as the elimination of discrimination and arbitrarily introduced professional hierarchies, through Annex no. 3 of the law. The time-limit for this item of the agreement is of 30 days. 

Moreover, the parties will initiate within one month, the necessary moves for the emergency adoption, by Government Decision, of the Framework Regulation concerning the establishment of jobs, staff categories and the concrete size of the premium for labour conditions, as well as the conditions for granting the latter for the "Culture" category of budget positions, in accordance with Art. 32 of Law no. 153/2017 and which to include all positions within these institutions: artistic, technical and administrative, including regular positions. 

Another provision of the agreement is the setting off, within 15 days, of negotiations in view of concluding the Collective Labour Contract to the level of unit groups. 

At the same time the parties agreed to initiate the steps for the amendment and completion of Law no. 263/2010 with regard to the uniform public pension system and initiate the action for reorganising the system of subordination and financing of culture institutions, within 30 days. 

Other two articles of the agreement provide for the initiation of the demarches necessary to unblock, through a Memorandum lodged with the Government, of vacancies in culture and mass-media institutions (30-day deadline) and to identify and involve the institutions in the culture and mass-media areas in which FAIR-MediaSind has affiliated organisations in the Culture Ministry's projects and programmes in respect to the role of culture in developing society, in training programmes and European projects meant for the employees and employers in Culture and Mass-Media (permanent timeframe). 

For the duration of the Agreement, FAIR-MediaSind undertook to suspend the scheduled protest actions. The agreement was concluded for a one-year period since its signing, with the possibility of an extension.