Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- In a “conclusion text” after negotiations on the restructuring at the VRT, the number of naked redundancies is reduced from 116 to 67. The ACOD trade union thinks this is still insufficient and is displeased that the management is organising a staff meeting before the social consultations have been completed. Shortly after a briefing by the management , a spontaneous strike broke out among the employees of Thuis .
There is again social unrest at the public broadcaster. The socialist union does not accept that the management is organising a staff meeting on Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on the negotiations with the unions about its transformation plan announced in April. The management wants to present what is currently before all staff, including those who are not affiliated with a trade union. ACOD finds this communication premature and believes that the management “frames” the conclusion text as an agreement, while the supporters of ACOD have already given a negative advice and the other unions have yet to express themselves. The opinions are expected by November 7.
Naked fired
Positive advice is not necessary, but it would be unusual for management to press ahead without any union support. The consequences of the transformation plan remain too great for ACOD. The number of naked layoffs has been reduced from 116 to 67 in the conclusion text, says ACOD trade unionist Wies Descheemaeker. However, through more voluntary departures, 222 jobs would still be lost. The production of the soap ‘Thuis’ would also be outsourced, which the unions do not like.
The management gave the ‘Thuis’ team a briefing on the plans on Tuesday morning. After the presentation, the shooting has been stopped, ACOD says. The VRT management clarifies that it was the producer who made this decision, so that the staff could let the information sink in.
Still strike
Shortly afterwards, a spontaneous strike broke out among the employees of Thuis . Both in the recording studio in Leuven and at the outdoor locations, the staff gave up work because employees cannot work for an external production house under the same employment conditions as at the VRT.
