CyBC plays down row over hiring for Turkish programmes

UNION members at the CyBC are up in arms about the public channel’s decision to hire new presenters and producers for Turkish programmes.

Representatives of the union met with the House Interior Committee on Monday, when they were informed of CyBC vice president Andreas Chrysanthou’s decision regarding Turkish programmes.

Chrysanthou was appointed by CyBC chairman Andreas Aloneftis to be in charge of the Turkish programmes.

But union representatives are demanding to meet with the CyBC council and have threatened to go on strike if proper hiring procedures were not followed.

The workers feel that the positions for presenters and producers should have been made known to them so that those interested could apply. They said people would be hired who did not even speak Turkish and were not recruited through the proper channels. There were journalists and producers who were interested in the positions but they were not made available to them, they claimed.

The starting date for Turkish programmes is March 1 and they will be shown from 8pm until 9.15pm every day.

During the committee meeting, Chrysanthou admitted that with the pressure to meet the deadline, procedures were rushed. He also said the CyBC were making an effort to produce programmes for Turkish Cypriots and to offer a cultural diversity for viewers.

Chrysanthou yesterday told the Cyprus Mail he believed the problem with the unions would be resolved and meetings would be held to address their concerns.

“When people are hired we do have procedures that take up to one year. We do not have a year. In September, those interested in the positions took exams and now have started the interviews,” said Chrysanthou.

“We did inform those staff inside CyBC of the positions but nobody expressed any interest. We were forced to bring people in from outside who will work under contract for one year,” said Chrysanthou.

He added the situation had been exaggerated and nobody was looking at the positive side of the Turkish programmes, which will offer entertainment and news to Turkish speakers.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.