KIEV, October 2. /TASS/. Staff of the Rada television studio that broadcasts sessions of the national parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is threatening to stop the broadcasts, Ukrainskaya Pravda news portal said Thursday.
The staff members demand an increase of wages, which vary from $ 46 to $ 115 per month at present.
“All the appeals to the studio’s director, Vassily Klimchuk, have proved unsuccessful so far,” Rada sources told the news portal. “What we hear instead are threats and intimidations and the gestures pointing at the exit door.”
A total of fifteen members of the staff have quitted over the past two months.
The employees “have asked the Rada leaders to interfere in the situation.” The list of demands includes a comprehensive inspection of the studio, its financial reinstatement and the resignation of its top managers.
“If the employees’ demands are neglected, the channel is ready to resort to the extreme measures in the form of a strike on the day of a plenary session and even an outage of broadcasting,” Ukrainskaya Pravda quoted the staff members appeal.
Rada broadcasts on the air and via satellite. It covers activities of the Verkhovna Rada and reports to the Directorate of Television and Radio Programming of the Rada’s administrative division.
The studio’s lineup includes fourteen programmes.