Rai journalists strike, the company against the union: “It spreads fake news that harms us”. Usigrai: “Words from the owners of the ironworks”

A very harsh, almost insulting rejoinder: “The union spreads fake news that damages the company.” New response from Usigrai: «Words from the masters of the ironworks».

Here it is in its purest form: the pincer maneuver of Rai Tele-Meloni to repress all dissent on public television: on the one hand the attempt to sabotage tomorrow’s strike by the small right-wing union Unirai, which is inviting those on rest to go to work during the protest, thus continuing normal programming; on the other, the company itself, increasingly government-backed, which with a two-minute video – double that allowed for union representation – which will be broadcast on the news, attacks Usigrai head-on, which has 1,600 subscribers out of 2,000 journalists Rai: «They are striking for ideological and political reasons, nothing that concerns workers’ rights».

According to the Rai leaders “there was no censorship or gagging” as reported by the press, Fnsi, European union, Usigrai for example on the case Antonio Scurati-25 April, and the strike «exposes the public service to political exploitation, depriving citizens of the fundamental right to information». Yet upon closer inspection, in the Usigrai strike proclamation statement, there are different strictly trade union reasons that led the representation, after many years, to call the mobilization: «They merge newspapers without discussing it with the union, the company does not replace those who leave in retirement and maternity leave, there is no public selection for hiring and temporary workers are not stabilised.” The workers still say, on the case of censorship of the writer on the day of Liberation from Nazi-Fascism: “We prefer to lose one or more days of pay rather than lose our freedom, Rai belongs to everyone.”

After the response from Viale Mazzini, the Usigrai executive prepared a note for newspapers and agencies in which he replies that «when there is no content, it is thrown on the stale accusation of engaging in politics and circulating fake news, an accusation very serious towards all RAI journalists, which aims to discredit an entire category. And arguments are put forward that do not stand up to the test of facts.” Which? The company is already reducing its workforce by not replacing retirement leavers; he prefers direct calls to public selections for the first uses on the network; in the meantime, however, it denies recognition of the right contract to dozens of temporary workers in the so-called phase 2; the company proposal on the performance bonus deprives journalists of an economic share recognized instead of other employees; on censorship and gags, just read the Italian and international newspapers of the last few weeks. By the way, what happened to the “drastic measures” announced by the CEO after the Scurati case?

READ: THE STATEMENT OF THE CDR OF REPUBBLICA

Per Vittorio Di Trapani, president of Fnsi, those of the current Rai top management are “behaviors with an anti-union flavor that hark back to the bosses of the 50s and 60s”. The members of the Rai Supervisory Committee express «full solidarity with the striking journalists» and say that the attempt by Rai top management to discredit the Usigrai union is «very serious. Unfortunately, both the audience figures and the leaks of the most representative faces and the disturbing censorship events that have gone around the world, incontrovertibly testify that the real dangers for the most important Italian cultural company come from its top management at the service of a hungry right, which has the sole objective of occupying power and reducing the spaces for pluralism and freedom”. He adds Francesco Boccia, president of the PD senators: “The company accuses Rai workers of engaging in politics and producing fake news. We are faced with an employer reaction which confirms the subservience of the Rai top management to the will of the majority”.