Journalism, an increasingly precarious profession

On 10 January 2017, the European Commission submitted the second proposal to revise the Directive on protecting workers from carcinogens. Workers were in for an unpleasant surprise: instead of the 12 substances expected, the Commission proposed occupational exposure limit values for only five new carcinogens. The crux of the matter is not the... Find out more

At the end of February, the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Committee backed a tightening of the Directive protecting workers against cancer-causing chemicals. Unions have won the first round of their fight with the industry. But the fight continues, with employers having more than one card up their sleeve – as witnessed... Find out more

The rise of new technologies and new ways of producing and consuming information have significantly changed the profession of journalism. Access to information has become more democratic and has increased the size of media audiences. Digital tools have made it possible to diversify journalistic formats and genres. Media companies, however, have... Find out more

As a young journalism graduate, he tried to earn his living doing the work he loved in his home country, but soon became disillusioned. But he did not give up. He has now spent 10 years in Brussels, doing bits of freelance work here and there. As a multi-platform reporter, he juggles languages as he juggles his pen, his microphone and his camera... Find out more

The result of waves of redundancies, the decline in the number of journalists with open-ended employment contracts in Europe has gone hand-in-hand with a proliferation of atypical jobs, especially ‘gig’ work. Workers hired under such contractual agreements are finding themselves faced with obstacles in defending their professional and social rights... Find out more

After 23 years spent working for the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, in September 2013 journalist Ricardo Gutiérrez became general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which unites 71 organisations from 43 countries representing more than 320,000 journalists. In the face of the major crisis hitting the European press, he pleads for... Find out more

Antonios Repanas, an accomplished and well-known sports journalist in Greece, found himself out in the cold when crisis hit. Unemployed after sixteen years working on a major national daily, he adopted a completely new focus by going to the Idomeni camp and reporting on the refugee crisis. As a result of this decision, Antonios feels that he is... Find out more

For more than ten years, the Metalworkers’ Federation (a member of the Belgian Trade Union Confederation FGTB) has been supporting the families of four workers suffering from blood cancer. Despite proof that the workers were exposed at work to benzene, a solvent known to cause cancer, the public body responsible for paying compensation to people... Find out more

In a village in the poor, neglected region of Basilicata in southern Italy, a small group of people from Darfur in Western Sudan have set up home. These refugees work the tomato fields. They were hired by the caporali, intermediaries employing questionable practices, who offer their services to the landowners. Their working and living conditions... Find out more

Anyone in search of an anti-nuclear tirade should look elsewhere, because not a word of criticism against the nuclear industry can be found on any of the 550 pages of the graphic novel trilogy Au cœur de Fukushima [In the Heart of Fukushima]. On the contrary, the author, who hides his identity behind the pseudonym ‘Kazuto Tatsuta’, goes to great... Find out more

The scene is both comical and pathetic at the same time; young men in suits and ties, some hopping about on the spot and others (visibly less comfortable) barely moving their lips and forcing a smile, are singing along to a pop song by The Killers while a portly man of around 50 works himself up into a frenzy of movement and emotion, urging them to... Find out more