TVP employees are becoming more and more nervous. Reason? No payment from the employer

After the Sejm adopted a resolution on the restoration of legal order and the impartiality and reliability of public media, a real revolution began in Polish Television, Polish Radio and the Polish Press Agency. However, the changes in the functioning of public media are not recognized by the National Broadcasting Council, which now has a significant impact on the company’s financial situation.

The regulator decided that PLN 158 million from the radio and television license fee (January and early February tranches) will go to the court deposit. Moreover, the new government suspended the payment of compensation that public media had received in recent years for radio and television license fee revenues lost as a result of exemption from the obligation to pay several social groups.

Many employees are still waiting for their transfers. Also long-term ones

The freezing of the company’s financing means that some TVP employees have not been paid since December. The portal’s editors contacted people who cooperate with Telewizja Polska on the basis of a B2B contract, i.e. a civil law contract concluded between two companies.

Some people are frustrated. These are journalists who have recently started cooperation with public television in the B2B form and still have not received any payment. Some people have been waiting for the transfer since January, and when they asked the management about it, they received no response – said one of the anonymous interlocutors.

Importantly, despite a significant replacement of employees at the Television Information Agency, there are still some publishers and editors in the team who also worked during the so-called good change. According to the portal, they also have to wait for overdue transfers. Moreover, people who were responsible for specific thematic channels or productions struggle with the same problem.

– I issued the invoice on December 31. Theoretically, according to TVP systems, the payment should be made on February 10. The invoice was recorded by their department, but the money was not there. I received assurances by February 10 that the transfer would definitely arrive. Then I heard that transfers were to be blocked above PLN 25,000. PLN and they are supposed to pay me after February 20. Still nothing has arrived, and taxes have to be paid – admitted another of the interlocutors.

Further in the statement we can read that the financial problems of public television are reflected in the suspension of the production of many programs. – Productions are limited, which is why other companies have a similar problem with TVP. One of my friends also produces various content for television and has not yet been paid. He is now ready to sell the debt to a debt collection company and have them fight TVP later to settle the debt. There are more people in similar situations, he points out.

The head of “Solidarity” on TVP also sees the problematic situation

The portal also contacted the chairman of the works committee of NSZZ “Solidarność” at TVP, who directly stated that the company’s financial situation was difficult. He also added that the production of programs is still limited and the process of returning to normal will be very slow. He also informed that some employees are writing to the union asking to suspend the obligation to pay dues due to their own difficult situation.

All this in the circumstances of the ongoing restructuring, the progress of which we are not informed about and we only know general assumptions from media reports. We are also still waiting for a meeting with the liquidator, which has not happened yet, said Bogdan Wiśniewski.