Montenegro: historic collective agreement improves employees’ rights at public broadcaster RTCG

The Trade Union Media of Montenegro (SMCG) signed an historic collective agreement with the public broadcaster Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) on 28 June, after three years of collective bargaining. According to SMCG, a valid collective agreement in the public broadcaster has not existed for almost 10 years. The document was signed by the Minister of culture Aleksandar Bogdanovic, the Managing Director of RTCG Bozidar Sundic, and the representatives of the trade unions Jadranka Drobnjak and Slavica Kruscic. It affects the daily work of more than 700 employees, out of which 300 are members of SMCG. The agreement is the…

Journalists speak out against media violations in Western Balkans and Turkey

The European Federations of Journalists (EFJ) and its members from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey (in picture) spoke out against media violations in their countries and call for more actions in a conference held on 4 November in Brussels by the European Commission (DG NEAR) to highlight the media freedom situation and progress made in Western Balkans and Turkey. A high-level meeting, the “Speak Up conference on Freedom of Expression and Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey” was kicked off by the European Commissioner in charge of European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Mr Johannes Hahn. Unfortunately, hardly any progress is echoed by…

Montenegro: Violence against journalists is unacceptable and dangerous

On Saturday (17/10/2015), the police in Montenegro violently broke peaceful protests and two journalists were subsequently detained. Drazen Zivkovic, a journalist working for the daily newspaper Dan and Gojko Raičević, the chief editor of an online news portal IN4S were detained after being obstructed from filming the police action against politicians from the opposition parties. Press photographers who came to the site of obstruction were also pushed by police and banned to report from the scene. Montenegro: Two journalists arrested with force at protest https://t.co/W23V35fuLy #MediaFreedom #ECPMF #mapmf — Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) October 20, 2015 “The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG)…

The EFJ affiliates have urged governments in the Balkans to uphold journalists’ rights

A hundred of delegates and observers representing 49 journalist’s organisations in 35 countries participated, on 2nd June, in Budva, Montenegro, in the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). They have urged governments in the Balkans to do more to uphold  media freedom and journalists’ rights. The meeting was hosted by the main EFJ affiliate in the country, the Trade Union Media of Montenegro (TUMM), and sponsored by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. Some other relevant organisations, including the European Commission (DG Neighborhood and Enlargement negotiations), the Konrad- Adenauer- Stiftung and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), have contributed…

EU Enlargement Commissioner: “further progress needed on press freedom”

In a meeting with delegates of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on Friday 20 March 2015, the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Mr. Johannes Hahn, has called for more progress made on press freedom in the West Balkans and Turkey. Commissioner Hahn expressed his concerns about media freedom in West Balkans and Turkey and pointed out that it was not satisfactory to see these countries receiving the same critical comments every year. He confirmed that the Commission considers media freedom as a fundamental right and as a key element in the transformation of countries into democratic…