AJM and SSNM on a meeting with the camera operators from the regional and local media

Representatives of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) on Saturday (06.11.2021) in Veles met with camera operators from local and regional media in the country.

The President of AJM Mladen Chadikovski and the president of SSNM, Pavle Belovski, addressed the meeting, which was organized in order to introduce the problems of fellow camera operators in the so-called “smaller” media, as well as to network in order to determine activities that can be useful for improving the situation and conditions in which the camera operators work.

The President of AJM, Chadikovski said that the activation of the camera operators’ section is of great importance because only through such contacts and networking can learn about the problems they face.

“I think that the relationship between journalists and camera operators should be specially nurtured as they are in an inseparable relationship, the problems of both social and professional nature are as common as their work,” Chadikovski said.

Belovski presented the activities of SSNM, as well as the benefits for the members that refer primarily to the protection of workers’ rights.

“This meeting is especially important because we came together to hear what kind of challenges the employees in the local and regional media have. The socio-economic situation of media workers is very important for professional functioning, and it can be improved only through joint action,” Belovski said.

Most of the meeting was dedicated to the camera operators who pointed out a series of challenges of socio-economic nature such as fixed-term contracts, low salaries, part-time engagements that do not provide security, but also problems of a professional nature such as obstruction on the performance of work tasks at terrain and more.

This meeting was the fifth in a series of meetings with journalists and media workers within the AJM and SSNM joint project entitled Safe Media Workers for Quality Journalism in Macedonia, supported by the Balkan Trust for Democracy through the Media Freedom Program.