Rumania - Media company in breach of legal obligations (2011)

A dispute in the media industry arose when the Romanian Journalists Federation (FRJ) MediaSind asked the Adevarul Press Trust management to observe national and international labour legislation in force in the country as well as the existing collective labour agreement. After MediaSind complained to the country’s Labour Inspection Authority, the Authority discovered that the company ignored provisions of the collective labour agreement. At the same time the Parity Commission in the News Media (composed of MediaSind, the Romanian Press Employers’ Association ROMEDIA and the National Union of Romanian Employers) revealed that Adevarul was in breach of the country’s labour laws. The Commission called on the company to abide by the law. In response, Adevarul unilaterally terminated copyright agreements covering six journalists who were members of the union and then fired them.