{"id":9040,"date":"2017-12-14T03:51:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T03:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/armenian-journalists-on-their-rights-at-work\/"},"modified":"2017-12-14T03:51:44","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T03:51:44","slug":"armenian-journalists-on-their-rights-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/newsroom\/2017\/12\/14\/9040\/","title":{"rendered":"Armenian Journalists on Their Rights at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

To get a broader picture of the work conditions of journalists in Armenia and to write a story on the topic, Media.am conducted a survey in the summer of 2017.<\/p>\n

The survey Journalists\u2019 Labor Rights: Salaries, Working Hours, and Vacation<\/em> was anonymous. We also didn\u2019t ask for the names of the media outlets where our colleagues work, as the purpose was not to gather information about the conditions at a specific media outlet, but to reveal issues in the sector overall.<\/p>\n

Over the course of four days, 73 journalists (53 women and 20 men) participated in the survey. In this article we analyze the survey findings, which perhaps don\u2019t transfer to or reflect the situation in all media outlets, but convey important information about the sector and work conditions in general.<\/p>\n

According to the survey results, more than half of the journalists believe their labor rights are violated in various ways, but they don\u2019t speak up because they either have no hope that anything will change or don\u2019t see the alternative of moving to another job. Many don\u2019t complain, explaining that these are the rules of the media sector and it\u2019s the same situation in all media outlets. <\/p>\n

Journalists work mainly six days a week, 8\u201310 hours a day, often don\u2019t receive vacation time off as prescribed by law, and mainly don\u2019t get paid for overtime work. Some don\u2019t have work contracts and are not registered employees.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting that the survey results essentially depend on the journalist\u2019s gender. Women and men perceive their professional career and the expectations that come from that differently.<\/p>\n

The survey shows that male journalists work more in daily hours than female journalists. At the same time, in the context of comparison between working women and men, female journalists work more (12\u201316 hours and more) than many working men (12 hours).<\/p>\n

Men more often get a high salary, while women (more than men) feel they are appreciated. But if male journalists argue they are valued because of their high salaries or the prospect of them, then for female journalists remuneration is not an important factor in feeling appreciated. They feel appreciated from good treatment by the management, the opportunity to cover important topics, and regardless of whether their labor rights are violated or not. <\/p>\n

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About the survey participants<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The majority of the polled journalists (82.2%) work full-time, while 17.8% are freelancers. Moreover, of the male journalists, only one is a freelancer, while of the female journalists, 12 are freelancers.<\/p>\n

Of the respondents, 46.6% work at news websites, 24.7% in television, 12.3% in newspapers, 4.1% in radio, and 12.3% at several media outlets simultaneously. <\/p>\n

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The journalists\u2019 work experience was also different. Of the respondents, 35.6% have work experience of up to 5 years; 32.9% have 5\u201310 years; and 31.5% have more than10 years of experience.<\/p>\n

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Working days and hours<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The majority of the polled journalists (43.8%) work six days a week; 31.5% work five days a week; 16.4% work seven days a week; and 8.2% have an irregular schedule. <\/p>\n

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Of the respondents, 38.4% work 8 hours; 32.9% work 10 hours; 9.6% work 12 hours; 12.3% work less than 8 hours. By the way, of the nine journalists who said they work less than 8 hours, seven are freelancers.<\/p>\n

The survey results show that the journalists who work more days per week also work longer hours. For example, of the 23 journalists who work five days a week, only one works 12 hours; the majority work 8 hours or less. Meanwhile, half of the 12 journalists who work seven days a week work 12\u201316 hours or more a day, with only three working 8 hours a day.  <\/p>\n

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Of the polled men, 15% work 8 hours; 60% work 10 hours; 15% work 12 hours; and 10% more less than 8 hours. <\/p>\n

Of the polled women, 39.8% work 8 hours; 20.7% work 10 hours; 16.9% work 12\u201316 hours and more; and 22.6% are freelancers. <\/p>\n

Though men on average work longer hours than women, the work hours of women who work more are more (12\u201316 hours and more) than of men who work more (12 hours).<\/p>\n

On the other hand, freelancer women make up a larger percentage than freelancer men.<\/p>\n

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According to Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia (RA):<\/p>\n

1. Working time duration may not exceed 40 hours per week. <\/p>\n

2. A daily period of work must not exceed 8 working hours, except for the cases stated by law, other normative legal acts and the collective contract.<\/p>\n

3. Maximum work duration, including:<\/p>\n

a) overtime in cases envisaged by Article 145 of this Labour Code at the request of the employer, must not exceed 48 hours per week.<\/p>\n

b) The overtime work may not exceed 12 hours daily including the breaks for rest and lunches with the consent of the parties.  <\/p>\n

5. The duration (including breaks for rest and lunches) of the daily working time of employee having two or more employment contracts with the same employer or with different employers may not exceed 12 hours per day. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Salaries<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of the respondents, 32.9% receive a monthly salary of 100,000\u2013150,000 AMD; 26% receive up to 100,000 AMD; 15.5% receive 150,000\u2013200,000 AMD; 12.3% receive 200,000\u2013250,000 AMD; 5.5% receive 250,000\u2013300,000 AMD; 5.5% receive more than 400,000 AMD; and 2.7% receive 300,000\u2013400,000 AMD.<\/p>\n

Of the 20 polled male journalists, three receive a salary greater than 400,000 AMD; meanwhile, only one of the 53 female journalists get a salary greater than 400,000 AMD. Fifteen female and four male journalists get a salary under 100,000 AMD.<\/p>\n

Men and women in media: salaries<\/a>
\nInfogram<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Do you feel appreciated at work?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of the polled male journalists, 60% feel appreciated at work (while 40% do not). Men mainly evidenced feeling appreciated by (having) a normal salary, a raise, or with the prospect of one. Not feeling appreciated likewise has a monetary basis: male journalists don\u2019t feel appreciated because of low pay and\/or the lack of bonus pay.<\/p>\n

Of the polled women, 62% feel appreciated, while 38% do not. In the case of women who feel appreciated, the amount of salary does not matter: female journalists feel equally appreciated whether their monthly salary is less than 100,000 AMD or more than 400,000 AMD.<\/p>\n

Polled women feel appreciated when<\/p>\n