At the meeting, the Programme Council of Radio Television Slovenia (RTVS) will discuss the proposal for a financial plan and a programme-production plan for 2023. At the request of 12 councillors, an initiative to dismiss the general director of RTVS, Andrej Grah Whatmough, is also on the agenda. But the decision-making is questionable, as it seems that Grah Whatmough will be absent.
The initiators of the dismissal of Andrej Grah Whatmough from the position of General Director of RTVS note, among other things, that RTVS has found itself in a leadership crisis, as it is facing the longest strike in its history, and the management is unable to establish a social dialogue. They also accuse him of questionable staffing.
At the same time, the question is whether the programme council will even be able to vote on the dismissal initiative. In accordance with the statute, the programme council should have allowed Grah Whatmough to give an opinion on the allegations, but it seems that he will not be at the meeting.
Namely, Grah Whatmough authorised TVS director Uroš Urbanija to replace him during his absence, from December 1st until cancellation, in front of the institution’s bodies: the programme council, the supervisory council, and the workers’ council. He did not state the reasons for his absence, but unofficially it is said to be a sick leave that has been going on since the beginning of December.
Urbanija replaces the general director of RTVS only in front of the institution’s bodies, otherwise he is replaced by the expert director for the field of finance, Anica Žgajnar.
Rumours are spreading that fierce fights, lobbying, and pressure on programme councillors are taking place to get rid of Grah!
The meeting will also discuss the proposal of the financial plan for 2023 and the programme-production plan for 2023. In the financial plan, it is planned to reduce the number of employees by 53 people.
STA
