After nearly six days with 1,700 journalists on strike,there is no sign of NRK’s management or union budging.
NRK journalists have made demands for competence raising,better treatment of appeals, and to reduce the wage gap among journalists and other public media. The pay gap between NRK and the major media houses is NOK 110,000,but the parties disagree on the comparison basis.
Legal Director of NRK, Olav Nyhus, told VG newspaper that the MBL (Media Companies Federation) statistics provide an incorrect picture. He emphasised that NRK in smaller counties is above average in terms of salary.
“NRK’s activities with 1,700 journalists are a different than shown in the statistics. Our business is more diverse, and it is not natural to compare us with the largest newspapers,” Nyhus said.
However, union leader, Richard Aune, disagrees because what NRK journalists deliver should be both regional and national.
‘’It’s a completely meaningless reasoning. As long as you deliver the same product, you have the same responsibility and expertise,so you’ll earn the same amount. That’s the crucial factor, not how many square meters you have in the office,” he said.
Aune told VG newspaper that it doesn’t make sense to compare a district office with 40 employees to a local newspaper with two employees.
“In most of the counties where NRK is proportionally better, the other journalists work with two or three editors and with a very poor economy,” he said.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
