ROME – Journalists at Italy’s public broadcaster RAI have gone on strike today, Monday 6 May, protesting against what they describe as the “stifling control” exerted over their work by Giorgia Meloni’s government. The strike was announced by the journalists’ union Usigrai, which has criticized political attempts “to turn RAI into a mouthpiece for the government”.
The 24-hour strike, which began on 6 May, is driven by several grievances including staff shortages, the unilateral cancellation of a collective agreement, and the cancellation of antifascist Italian author Antonio Scurati’s Rai talkshow appearance, to mark the 25 April national holiday, which celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism.
“We prefer to lose one or more days of pay than to lose our freedom, convinced that the freedom and autonomy of the public service are a value for everyone. And Rai belongs to everyone,” said Usigrai in a video message broadcast on 5 May.
In response, RAI management accused the journalists of striking for ‘ideological and political reasons’ that ‘have nothing to do with workers’ rights’. The FNSI General Secretary Alessandra Costante and the FNSI President, Vittorio Di Trapani, reacted immediately: “This is a very serious act to conceal what is really happening in the public service. (…) Accusing hundreds of colleagues of spreading fake news to damage the company is a very serious act as well as a mass distraction operation to hide what is really happening in the public service media”.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the largest organisation of journalists in Europe representing more than 320,000 journalists in 74 trade unions and professional associations across 46 countries in Europe, has joined its Italian affiliate, the Italian National Press Federation (FNSI), in giving its full support to the strikers.
“For years we have been calling for greater independence for public broadcasting in Italy,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “Instead of following the spirit of the new European Media Freedom Act, which will consolidate the independence of public broadcasters in Europe, the Italian government is engaging in a political capture of RAI, in defiance of the right of Italian citizens to access free, independent and pluralist information”.
The EFJ and the FNSI stand alongside RAI journalists and media workers and support Usigrai’s demands which led to the strike.
