The War Between Journalists and the Management of "Oslobodjenje"

Empty Pages Waiting for Clean Slates

Journalists write daily about strikes, embezzlements, various cases of abuse and violation of workers' rights. They can often find enough material for such stories in their own editorial offices, but do not resort to such examples until the eleventh hour. The clock in the Sarajevo's daily "Oslobodjenje" (Oslobodjenje) is showing that "the eleventh hour has long passed".

AIM, Sarajevo, May 21, 2001

Since May 17 journalists of "Oslobodjenje", the oldest daily in B&H, are on strike demanding regular payment of their salaries, reduction of managerial staff and written guarantees that they will be paid what the firm owes them in unpaid salaries for the last five post-war years. The direct motive for the strike was the announced 20 percent cut of salaries, but the real reasons are much deeper. The attempt of several editors loyal to the management to continue with the publishing of the newspaper after the majority of members of the editorial board sided with journalists, failed ingloriously after two days. In the meantime, negotiations between trade unions and the management, headed by Director Salko Hasanefendic, did not bear fruit. Trade unions rejected the proposal of the current Supervisory Board for the management and editorial board to resign, but remain in office for the next 69 days until the shareholders' conference is held. Thus, since May 19, for the first time in its 58 yearlong history, "Oslobodjenje" did not appear on the stands.

Essentially, what journalists and others working in "Oslobodjenje" are faced with does not differ much from problems of their colleagues in other B&H media. The only difference is that it seems that journalists of "Oslobodjenje" were the first to become "class conscious". The socialist-realist rhetoric of the management, invoking the "better past" and international awards this paper won during the war in B&H, as well as the principle that "a paper must come out at any cost, because it was printed during the war under shellfire" sounds ridiculous, to say the least, and speaks how much they have lost touch with reality. The war in B&H has ended five years ago and this country has entered capitalism. Since, by definition, work is a commodity, like any other, then it applies to journalistic work as well. What sells every newspaper on the market and why people buy it is not some hundred grams of paper, but journalistic texts. That is why journalists rightfully demand to be paid for their work. Incidentally, under international conventions, work without pay is considered slavery so that it is unrealistic to expect from journalists to voluntarily agree to such a status.

A year ago when it was privatised, "Oslobodjenje" also accepted the rules of the game called capitalism. At that time it was pompously announced that this paper, state-owned until then, was "bought by its employees and a strategic partner" personified in Temin Dedic, a B&H businessman living and working in Germany. The workers' expectations that things would fall into place after privatisation, i.e. that they would receive regular salaries for their work, were not met. The management of "Oslobodjenje" gave its "contribution" to the world business practice according to a simple recipe - salaries were still late so that the last year also turned to be several months "shorter", same as previous ones. On average, workers of "Oslobodjenje" got three salaries less each year. Next year the management would simply "forget" this debt and start all over again. Several months ago, a new strategic partner appeared - "Kmecka druzba" (The Economic Group) from Slovenia.

Its share in cash soon melted away because it was partly used for salaries and partly for "the promotion of business operations" in the form of new cars for the management. Currently, the greatest mystery is who is the real owner of "Oslobodjenje". After all investments and capital inflow, the employees believed that everything taken into account, they held one third of shares, that the second third was in Temin Dedic's hands and that the remainder belonged to the Slovenian partner. Consequently, they were rather surprised and bitter to learn (true, unofficially) that they had only something over three percent of shares. This practically meant that several people from the management owned at least 30 percent of shares. That is why strikers' demands were broadened to include auditing of the firm's privatisation and overall financial operations. Onetime media and business giant, "Oslobodjenje" embarked upon privatisation with a debt of DM 6 million and in the last year the situation did not improve much. Despite over 200 permanently employed workers, the circulation fell below 10 thousand copies. Workers of "Oslobodjenje" demanded from management all details on numerous business "undertakings" of this media house before privatisation, such as the one with "Benetton" clothing boutique in Sarajevo, management of business space in other parts of B&H and abroad, as well as business arrangements with foreign editions of "Oslobodjenje".

What will be the final outcome in "Oslobodjenje" no one knows for sure. The worst possible alternative would for the firm to declare bankruptcy. Nevertheless, judging by indications, primarily the "silent" acquisition of Liberation's shares at the free market, foreign investors, primarily the Slovenian ones, are interested, while press concerns from Western Europe are also "measuring" the local media. A possibility that the employees might look for a way out of this stalemate in starting a new newspaper, should not be ruled out since it would be free of all old debts and style of work and could prove attractive to both domestic and foreign investors. The fate of "Oslobodjenje" will be more certain after the shareholders conference, which is to be held within the next 60 days. In the meantime, the trade unions insist on negotiating with representatives of "The Economic Group", who have remained silent till now.

The greatest disappointment in this whole story were mild reactions of colleagues from the other media. Officially, only two out of seven journalistic associations in B&H declared their support. The other media mostly carried statements of trade unions and the management, sitting on the fence. There are several specific examples that solidarity among B&H journalists is just wishful thinking.

A special "jewel" was a report on the strike which was broadcast in the central information programme of TV B&H on Saturday evening. A wretched reporter of this house concluded his report with a claim that if "Oslobodjenje" stopped coming out some other paper would take its place, while its 210 employees "will find it hard to get another job". Colleagues from the Cantonal TV in Sarajevo did not do much better. Along with their reporter's story about the strike in "Oslobodjenje", they showed a documentary about this newspaper made during the war with a basic message "the sky can fall, but "Oslobodjenje" must come out". Thus, the blame for the disappearance of "Oslobodjenje" has been practically imputed to its journalists who should, it seems, for the sake of "higher interests", fame and tradition agree to work for nothing, although in supermarkets or when paying electricity, gas or water bill "fame and tradition" are not accepted as means of payment.

There have been journalistic strike in B&H before this, but mostly in the local media. The strike in "Oslobodjenje" is the first case of journalistic "rebellion" in a "great" media house in B&H. Therefore, their requests are not just an internal affair of workers employed in this house, but also concerns other journalists in B&H. They are without a collective contract and defined lowest price of journalistic work, they receive wages from time to time and in the amount which exclusively depends on the employer's good will and have no paid contributions for health care and retirement insurance. Unfortunately, the majority of national reporters fall into this category.

Believing the employers' claims that "this is the only place they can work since no one will hire them", reporters agree to almost everything, losing self-confidence and self-respect, guided by a logic "keep silent, it can get worse". That is why the strike in "Oslobodjenje" also represents an attempt at saving the minimum journalistic personal and professional dignity. As things now stand, the majority of journalists in B&H are not aware of this fact, which means that they cannot hope that their status would improve in foreseeable future, because no one but they can and will fight for things to change for the better.

Drazen SIMIC

(AIM Sarajevo)