The Audiovisual Media Authority, in cooperation with the State Labour and Social Services Inspectorate, organized today a roundtable discussion on the current working conditions and the creation of a safe, professional, fair and dignified environment for all audiovisual media workers. This roundtable marked the first activity under the joint work plan approved by both institutions, following the Memorandum of Understanding signing between AMA and the Labour Inspectorate. The roundtable was attended by the audiovisual media industry, journalists and civil society representatives.
“In today’s landscape, the media sector in general and the audiovisual sector in particular, faces numerous challenges”, said AMA’s Chair, Armela Krasniqi, in her opening remarks. “Beyond the challenges brought by technological developments, I’m also referring to a range of issues, perhaps inherited from the past, that demand our attention and are closely linked to the lack of sufficient guarantees for journalists’ working conditions”.
While AMA does not have direct authority over the employment relationships of audiovisual media workers, we have frequently received reports from journalists themselves or civil society organizations regarding issues such as lack of employment contracts, informality, delayed payments and the absence of social security contributions. “We have addressed and followed up on these issues, but we’ve also considered going a step further. A few months ago, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Labour Inspectorate, which represents a novelty for both of our institutions. We took a concrete step toward cooperation, aimed at addressing these concerns in an institutional, coordinated and committed manner”, added Krasniqi.
The agreement with the Inspectorate is founded on a collaborative approach, whereby each institution contributes within the limits of its respective competencies, but with a shared objective, the promotion and respect of labour standards and human dignity within the audiovisual media environment. Today’s roundtable was organized as part of this cooperation, marking a first step toward raising the standard of audiovisual media, strengthening its lawful functioning and advancing it to a new level, particularly within the European integration context.
The Head of the State Labour Inspectorate, Eljo Muçaj, emphasized the Inspectorate’s role in monitoring and overseeing working conditions for journalists and other media professionals, as part of its commitment to ensuring a safe and dignified working environment. He also presented the institution’s modern approach, which includes risk-based inspections and the use of the intelligent system MIRA – the Intelligence and Risk Analysis Matrix, which according to Muçaj, it has significantly improved the inspection processes efficiency and objectivity, including those in the media sector over the past year. He stated that during 2024–2025, the Inspectorate carried out 135 inspections in media entities, highlighting that the majority of complaints submitted to the institution relate to unpaid or delayed wages, unpaid health insurance contributions, unpaid overtime and failure to comply with proper procedures for employment relationships termination, etc.
The roundtable proceedings continued with issues raised directly by journalists themselves, reflecting the realities they encounter on a daily basis during their work.
