Argentina: Court Ruling Favors Case of Five Telam Journalists

Five Telam journalists will be returning to their offices, the Argentine Court of Justice said Wednesday, after ratifying the July decision to reinstate the state media workers.

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The V Chamber of the National Chamber of Labor Appeals ruled in favor of the Argentine Labor Court’s declaration on July 13 which deemed the “compulsory” dismissal of the 357 Telam employees “illegal.”

Forty percent of the Telam staff was dismissed on June 26 with no apparent cause and without previous legal procedures. Since then, workers, social organizations, unions and opposition lawmakers have demanded their reinstatement.

The case was brought by five former employees who signed their names on a precautionary measure. According to Labor Judge Ricardo Tatarsky, the dismissal of the five journalists was illegal because the state agency failed to follow the usual method outlined in a crisis prevention plan, which provides security for both company and employees.

The Press Union of Buenos Aires celebrated the win, saying, “Justice returned to the fight against the struggle, for almost 60 days, Telam workers had for the existence of strong, plural and federal public media.”

"When confirming a ruling on five workers, the general rule of order established that it is illegal - for all cases - to dismiss massively without performing the Preventive Procedure of Crisis," the organization said.

The case of the five journalists is an “unavoidable precedent" for the 352 nearly identical cases their colleagues will present to local ministers, Union leaders said.