04. 05. 2004

Local television on strike 39 days

SMEDEREVO, May 4, 2004 – Staff of a local television station in Smederevo have been on strike for 39 days in protest at the replacement of the company’s deputy director, Jovica Seslak. Several days into the strike, Seslak was offered the position of editor-in-chief in a meeting with the Municipal Assembly of Smederevo, which operates the station, but strikers refused the offer. The strike began after the Municipal Assembly, at a meeting on March 26, unanimously voted to replace Seslak with Dragan Kosovac. The Assembly claimed that Seslak’s contract had expired two months earlier and that he did not have the formal education required for the position. The Municipal Assembly also replaced the company’s entire board of management, alleging that they were idle.