Romanian state news agency Agerpres signed a new collective work contract with its journalists’ union

Romanian state-controlled news agency Agerpres and the Romanian Journalists’ Union Mediasind signed a new collective work contract (CWC), that will produce effects until 2019.

The new CWC regulates the rights and obligations that employees and employer have, establishing strong measures to protect and guarantee work places and a series of warranties regarding the functioning of the social dialogue at European standards.

The new contract also includes clauses offering professional guarantees for agency’s journalists, such are The Deontological Code for Agerpres’ Journalist and the Ethics Guide for Photojournalism.

According to CWC:

Agerpres’ journalist is obliged to present in a correct, objective, complete and equidistant manner the realities of the social-political, economic, religious, cultural-scientific life both internal and international, promoting the democratic, civic and moral values. Agerpres’ journalist will not make news that promote discrimination of any sort. The news will be presented and relayed accurately, with no influence from public authorities or other public or private persons. In the exercise of the profession and in the relations it maintains with public authorities or different commercial companies, Agerpres’ journalist is forbidden to make deals that could affect its impartiality or independence. Agerpres’ journalist will not accept privileges, special treatments, gifts or favors that can compromise his integrity.

The contract also states the confidentiality of journalist’s sources. A journalist can refuse to write, prepare or participate to making an article that contravenes the legislation and the deontology and can also refuse to unveil his sources.

The stipulations of the new CWC come to support the journalistic independence of Agerpres. Considering the political pressures in the last period, that agency still faces, I am happy that, at least in the inside, the social dialogue not only continues, but is also improved by the new CWC signed by Agerpres’ management on one side and Mediasind, as representative union, on the other side. Fulfilling successfully the public function of the agency cannot take place without an internal favorable environment, because the institution is based first and foremost on the people working 24 hours a day to offer to the public the newest information, to the highest possible standards. In an unfavorable political environment, that is characterized through consistent pressure over Agerpres, the only chance to continue on the right way is stability and predictability, both favoring generation and implementation of useful development strategies

Alexandru Giboi,

General Manager Agerpres