Travail.Suisse trade union rejects No Billag initiative
The Travail.Suisse union says no to the No-Billag initiative. The initiative would effectively put an end to public service broadcasting by abolishing license fees and banning all subsidies for radio and television stations.
Not only SRG would be hit hard, but also numerous local and regional private broadcasters that rely on fees, the Travail.Suisse board announced on Wednesday. This would significantly weaken linguistic and cultural diversity and democracy.
If the fees were abolished, the information available would shrink and the formation of opinion would be "primarily controlled by private interests. According to Travail.Suisse, the "sufferers" of such a development would also include employees: In the future, their concerns would be less discussed or only "one-sidedly highlighted". Travail.Suisse recalled that both SRG and the fee-financed private radio and TV stations are financed to around 75 percent by fees. (SDA)
