Nearly three-quarters of the journalists of L'Est Républicain and Le Républicain Lorrain, two daily newspapers of the Ebra group, began a 48-hour strike on Tuesday to express their "
fed up
" at what they consider to be a deterioration in their working conditions, the unions said.
The strike is "
very well followed
" with "
75% of strikers
" within the editorial staff of the Republican East, said Eric Barbier, journalist with the daily in Besançon and delegate of the National Union of Journalists (SNJ), joined by l AFP.
"
Ten journalists out of 14 are on strike
" at the local Besançon, and "
15 out of 22
" in Nancy, figures which according to him reflect "
the general fed up and the state of wear of the writing
”.
At Vosges Matin, another title of the Ebra group, participation in the strike is on the other hand "
very low
", he noted.
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"
It's a strike that comes after months, years of difficulties: people are exhausted
," said Catherine Belin, journalist at the Republican Lorrain and SNJ union representative, during a press conference in front of the newspaper's headquarters in Woippy, in Moselle.
About thirty strikers had gathered on this occasion in front of the building and held signs proclaiming "
Ebra broke me
" or "
Journalists, not content producers
".
Journalists denounce the deterioration of their working conditions since the arrival of new management in September 2017 at the head of the Ebra group, which owns nine regional daily press titles.
They mention numerous sick leaves, burn-outs, a reduction in staff leading to an overload of work, a lack of recognition as well as a lack of consultation during editorial decisions.
Conditions which, according to them, lead to "
a loss of meaning
" of their profession: "
the organization of the editorial staff is only due to over-commitment, sometimes to the detriment of their personal life, (...) of all the editorial teams
“, thus indicated the CFDT and the SNJ of L’Est Républicain and Vosges Matin in a leaflet.
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The unions were to meet the management of the Republican Lorraine on Tuesday afternoon.
They are calling for a "
revaluation of wages
", an "
increase in the workforce
" and an improvement in the quality of life at work, said Philippe Neu, CFDT-Journalists union representative and photographer in the newspaper.
A decision will be made on the possible continuation of the movement "
according to the answers
" provided by the management, he added.
However, the three dailies should appear on Wednesday, union representatives said.
Contacted by AFP, the management of the Ebra group did not respond immediately.
