Comedia rejects publishers joining the Press Council

 The media union Comedia does not want publishers to be represented on the Press Council. With its negative stance, the union is protesting against the fact that publishers would refuse to negotiate a new collective labor agreement (CLA) for journalists in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. However, the Comedia decision will hardly prevent the publishers from joining the Press Council, as the journalists' association Impressum and the Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) have already expressed their support. The journalists in the Comedia media union took the negative decision on Saturday at a so-called sector conference. The union announced on Sunday that it was to be welcomed that the Swiss Press Association wanted to get involved in ethical issues. However, this is in contrast to the "unethical behaviour" of the association as an employer organization. This is because the quality and ethics of journalistic work are directly related to working conditions. Despite the negative decision regarding the Press Council, the Comedia board is now to seek talks with the publishers in order to negotiate a social partnership.
The Board of Trustees of the Swiss Press Council Foundation will decide on the admission of publishers and the SRG in the next few days. In the event of a yes vote, implementation of the sponsorship will begin on July 1, 2008.