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Karl Schembri
The Public Broadcasting Services newsroom is still without a news manager as more employees are being forced to leave the national television and radio station. At the same time the Chief Executive goes on a two-week holiday halfway through the restructuring process.
Last Friday was the last day of work for 28 employees, some of whom left the PBS building in tears after years working there.
The hot seat at the restructured public broadcaster, that of news manager, remains vacant. Carmel Attard, Acting Head at MIC, has reportedly turned down the post after he was chosen by the interviewing board. Charles Flores, who is currently employed at PBS, came second but was informed that his application was turned down by the interviewing board.
In fact, adverts appearing last week in the press indicated that applications for the post remained open until 26 July, meaning that the interviewing board is keener on filling the vacancy from people outside PBS, although at least two other candidates from the media have also been turned down.
The role of ‘manager news’ carries with it the responsibility of registered editor, meaning that the person will be legally liable for editorial content on the PBS stations, even though he or she will not have a vote on the editorial board.
The post is further undermined by the fact that the news manager will only have six reporters working on alternate days, meaning that he or she will have to produce the Eight o’ clock news bulletin with a newsroom of three reporters.
In the absence of the chief executive, who will be on holiday from tomorrow despite the impending deadlines for the hasty restructuring (one employee was even interviewed in bed after a serious back operation as the chief executive felt that he had to conclude the restructuring as soon as possible), Sylvana Cristina will be Acting Chief Executive.
Cristina has already been appointed Manager Programming and Archives, much to the dismay of John Inguanez, who felt he should have been chosen for the post.
PBS workers speak of a demoralised remaining workforce, which the government wants to cut down to 64 from 178.
“This restructuring process is an exercise in humiliation for us,” said one of the workers.
They are also angry because of the surprise appointment of Ray Libreri, their General Workers’ Union shop steward, to the position of Sales Coordinator, from assistant manager at the PBS archives – a veritable promotion which they say is “incredible.”
Other workers who applied for retirement schemes have expressed their anger at the discriminatory way in which other employees were granted early retirement while their requests remain on hold under the pretext that the station needed their services during the restructuring process.
“I have a new job and am dying to get out of here,” one of them said. “Yet a privileged few were conveniently accommodated and were allowed to leave before anyone else.”
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