MediaSind: Bonus pay for harmful working conditions, fully justified by occupational diseases

The intention of the Ministry of Finance to award bonus pay for unsafe working conditions only to certain categories of public employees discriminates against culture and media employees subjected to risk factors confirmed by public institutions, the FAIR-MediaSind cultural sector and mass-media representative trade union organisation said in a statement released on Monday. 

"The FAIR-MediaSind Federation (...) has taken note of the intention of the Ministry of Finance to award bonus pay for working conditions only to certain categories of employees, thus discriminating against employees in the culture sector and the media. The 15pct bonus awarded for injurious working conditions is fully justified by the existence of risk factors facing the employees of these guilds. The measurements made by the 'Alexandru Darabont' National Institute for Occupational Safety Research and Development and public health departments have found that the employees are subjected to risk factors for occupational accidents and diseases, with the risk factors that can lead to illnesses having to do with exposure to biological agents, electromagnetic fields, noise and poor lighting conditions, as well as to the neuropsychological overload," reads the statement. 

Sources with the Ministry of Finance reported last week that the 15pct of the base salary bonus pay awarded to public employees for difficult and harmful working conditions will stay in place only for doctors, teachers, magistrates and police officers, and turned into a fixed income. 

The FAIR-MediaSind Federation warns that the elimination of this bonus could trigger a flurry of lawsuits by culture and media employees. 

"It is outrageous that occupational diseases in this important sector are still unrecognised by the Romanian state. That is designed to prevent a huge flurry of lawsuits against employers. In most institutions where measurements of the risk factors have been conducted, inadmissible exceedances were found of the normal levels of noise, air quality at work, electromagnetic radiation, neuropsychological overload etc. Without drawing a comparison with other occupational categories, we believe culture and media employees in culture and the media have the right not to be discriminated against and treated at a lower level than other employees," the MediaSind release mentions. 

The FAIR-MediaSind Federation warns that in the event of the repeal of the bonus, the organisation will initiate the procedures for triggering industrial action. 

"If the Government decides to eliminate the compensatory allowances for harmful working conditions only for a certain category of employees to the detriment of others, the FAIR-MediaSind Federation will initiate the procedures for triggering industrial action at the level of all the cultural sector and the media organisations of its affiliates: philharmonics, opera houses, theatres, museums, libraries, cultural centres and institutes, as well as media organisations. In addition, the validity of the agreement concluded by FAIR-MediaSind with representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Identity expired in May this year, and the resumption of actions for the start of a general strike is a perfectly justified step. At the same time, FAIR-MediaSind will ask the national and international organisations with which it is affiliated for support : the CNSLR-Fratia National Confederation of Free Trade Union, the International Federation of Musicians, the International Federation of Actors, the International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, UNI Global Union and UNI MEI."