[WATCH] Broadcasting Authority chairperson faces calls for resignation

Broadcasting Authority employees have launched an industrial action over a dispute with the authority's chairperson, Tanya Borg Cardona.

The industrial action started off with a one-hour walkout, after which employees will not be answering phones or emails and won't be monitoring current events as they normally do among other actions being taken, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin said.

Addressing a press conference outside the BA building, UHM president Josef Vella said that there was a clear problem with the management, and the workers were suffering at their expense.

According to the UHM, the workers have been described as “extra” by the management. “There have been instances where the workers have been bullied,” he said. 

Read more: Dejected BA employees demand PM’s intervention over Valletta move

The workers are also opposing a move to Valletta, where office space is significantly smaller than their current place.

He hit out at the BA’s management, accusing it of creating a work environment that was not conducive to a healthy workplace where workers can carry out their work serenely. Vella pointed out that while employees were being told they were extra, the BA was paying Borg Cardona €6,000 a year for her to use her car, all while the authority had its own car and was leasing a second.

Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday

“It is particularly concerning, especially when one takes into consideration the important role carried out by the Broadcasting Authority, now more than ever. The country is gearing up for an election and the authority’s work is invaluable to the nation,” Vella said.

Vella said that a number of letters had been written by the union on behalf of the workers, including one to the Prime Minister.

"We got a reply last month but nothing seems to have happened since then… if anything it's getting worse," said Vella.

While the industrial action is effective immediately, UHM did not exclude taking further measures if the situation is not resolved.