The socialist trade union has called for a 24-hour strike to send a signal to the Flemish government “leaving the public broadcaster in the cold” by not indexing the operating resources.
The impact of the action will be felt to a limited extent by viewers and listeners. In addition to the two current affairs programs that will be canceled, ‘Het Journaal’ from 7 p.m. would also be slightly shorter and more music would be heard on the VRT radio stations than usual.
It is not yet clear what will be shown on Canvas instead of ‘Terzake’ and ‘De Appointment’.
At the end of April, the management of the VRT announced that it wants to lay off 116 employees, not to replace 50 natural leavers and to outsource the production of the soap ‘Thuis’ to an external company. Unions have already campaigned against the plans. For example, broadcasts of ‘De Zevende Dag’ and ‘Villa Politica’ have already been cut recently.
“The VRT management chooses to let colleagues pay for the majority of those savings,” ACOD says. “We are convinced that things can and must be done differently, for example by investing in colleagues and spending less externally.”