(JED/IFEX) – Further to a 23 October 2000 decision by José Kajangwa, president-managing director of Congolese National Radio-television (Radiotélévision nationale congolaise, RTNC, a public station), twenty-two journalists and employees of this state-owned company were reinstated to their former ranks and positions and authorised to return to work. Their reinstatement follows the recommendations of a special […]
(JED/IFEX) – Further to a 23 October 2000 decision by José Kajangwa, president-managing director of Congolese National Radio-television (Radiotélévision nationale congolaise, RTNC, a public station), twenty-two journalists and employees of this state-owned company were reinstated to their former ranks and positions and authorised to return to work.
Their reinstatement follows the recommendations of a special commission appointed by Minister of Communications Dominique Sakombi Inongo. Most of the reinstated employees will not receive any backpay, despite the commission’s recommendation to that effect.
According to information received by JED, some of the twenty-two reinstated RTNC journalists and employees will be assigned to the private audiovisual press organs which have recently been placed under the supervision of Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s government.
The reinstated persons are among the RTNC journalists and other employees (including several union officials) who were dismissed in July 1999 following a strike by employees who were demanding better working conditions (a partial list of affected individuals is included on pages 37 and 38 of JED’s 1999 annual report on press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo: http://www.congonline.com/Jed/).
