Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) employees have started a general two-hour strike due to unpaid salaries.

RTK’s union representatives are calling on the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, to take immediate legal measures and find a solution to secure RTK’s budget. Otherwise, they said they would escalate measures, including boycotting the electoral campaign for the early elections on December 28, as well as not covering political events.

The representative of the RTK Workers’ Union, Gëzim Bimbashi, said that the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, must secure RTK’s budget, as there is a legal solution for this.

“From today we are on a two-hour strike. Early on, we entered the news edition, at our workplace where we work every day, to express our dissatisfaction. We are entering the second month without any signal from anyone, and the ignoring of our requests has brought us here. Our demands as a union have been ignored, and we previously addressed the Assembly, but the Assembly was dissolved. Now we are calling on the government, on Prime Minister Kurti. We call on Prime Minister Kurti to take immediate legal actions and find a solution, as there is a legal solution. During this time I have consulted lawyers and legal experts who presented some of the forms the government can take very quickly, which do not contradict the law. Therefore, it remains up to the government and Prime Minister Kurti to find a solution,” he said.

Otherwise, Bimbashi said that they will escalate measures, even boycotting all political activities and the electoral campaign.

“At the end of this week, we will inform you about further measures. Initially, we started with a two-hour strike, and by the end of the week, we will issue statements on how to continue. The strike will not stop and will continue every day. If no solution is reached, we will request the suspension of coverage of the electoral campaign, not out of whim or desire,” added Bimbashi.

On the other hand, the head of the Kosovo Journalists’ Association, Xhemajl Rexha, said that RTK’s situation is unprecedented and unacceptable for KJA. Expressing support for RTK’s strike, he said that securing RTK’s budget is in the hands of the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, and the acting Finance Minister, Hekuran Murati.

“This is an unprecedented and unacceptable situation for the public broadcaster. We support today’s strike and also support any further measures that the union may take, such as boycotting the election campaign, which would be the minimal step in political events. As KJA, as we have said in the past, there is only one address of responsibility, which is the Government of Kosovo. Everything is in the hands of Prime Minister Kurti and Finance Minister Hekuran Murati. They now also have an advantage to take action as they are not legally deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo, they are only acting Prime Minister and acting Minister. One more argument to make a decision and allocate the budget for three months,” he emphasized.

The unions warned that the strike will continue until the RTK budget is allocated and, in addition to the strike, they will organize protests in front of the Government and the Assembly in the coming days. In the absence of salaries and institutional solutions, they said the functioning of programs and the public mission of the country’s only broadcaster is at risk.