Strike will impact VRT services, including flandersnews.be
Radio, TV and online services, including flandersnews.be will be impacted by a 24 hour strike called by the three trade unions here at the VRT. The strike has been called in response to the dismissal of the Flemish public broadcaster’s CEO Paul Lembrechts by the Flemish Government and against what those backing the industrial action describe as "the uncertainty in the upper echelons of the organisation" and “the continuing savings” the broadcaster is being required to make.
Mr Lembrechts' dismissal was announced last Monday. The CEO, supported by the rest of the management team, had sought the dismissal of Mr Lembrechts' number two at the VRT Peter Claes. The VRT board that is politically appointed refused. A mediator appointed to find a way out of the impasse failed to resolve the conflict that threatened to paralyse the broadcaster.
Monday’s strike will mean that VRT radio stations will play continuous music only interrupted by news bulletins at the top of the hour.
The VRT television channels Eén and Canvas will show a selection of some of VRT television’s most popular programmes. Only news bulletins (in a shortened form) and Eén’s daily serial ‘Thuis’ will be broadcast as scheduled.
The children’s TV channel Ketnet will broadcast its normal schedule.
On our Dutch-language new website vrtnws.be there will be fewer articles and the articles that do appear will be shorter. Here at flandersnews.be no new articles will appear on Monday. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.