NZZ reported for violation of labor law

In a joint statement on Tuesday, Syndicom and Impressum accuse the NZZ media group of neglecting the labor law. In addition, the legally required health protection of journalists is being neglected. Editorial staff are regularly assigned tasks that cannot be completed within regular working hours. Since the
However, if working time is not correctly recorded, regulated compensation is often made impossible. "The overwork endangers the health of the employees," the notice says. With the complaint, the two journalists' organizations want to "bring lasting attention to the protection of employees in the editorial offices of the NZZ media group," as they wrote in an open letter to NZZ CEO Veit Dengler.

Adherence to the CLA

They would prefer to tackle the problems through social partnership, Syndicom and Impressum emphasize. Despite "years of effort and several constructive proposals" on the part of journalists, however, neither the individual media companies in German-speaking Switzerland nor the Swiss Media Association have so far been willing to conclude a collective labor agreement (CLA) again. Imprint and Syndicom affirmed that they are still prepared to negotiate solutions with the NZZ media group or with individual companies in the form of company CLAs. Minimum working conditions agreed in social partnership are in line with a proven Swiss tradition. Parity institutions, as provided for in CLAs, can, in the opinion of the employee representatives, prevent problems and defuse conflicts before situations escalate. Veit Dengler is therefore called upon to "establish a relationship based on partnership as quickly and sustainably as possible." In addition, the journalists' organizations hope that Dengler will lobby for new CLA negotiations within the publishers' association.

NZZ for industry-wide solution

The NZZ is astonished by the actions of Syndicom and Impressum. "Dialogue is not promoted with such advertisements," Bettina Schibli, Head of NZZ Corporate Communications, said in response to an inquiry from the SDA news agency. She added that the issue of working time recording at the NZZ media group had been "sensibly and purposefully settled in dialogue with employee representatives." The NZZ has been in talks with the Zurich Labor Inspectorate for some time now, independently of the ad.The issue is important for the entire industry, he said. Looking for solutions - especially for journalistic professions - is therefore not the task of a single company alone, Schibli said. (SDA)