The First Instance Court of Iraklio in Crete held that the dismissal of 20 former ERT employees was illegal and awarded them a total of 200,000 euros in damages.
The compensation awarded covers the unpaid wages that the employees should have received between June 2013 (when ERT was forced closed) and December 2013, when the trial was initiated. Additionally, the courts explained that the former employees could claim further compensation, for wages beyond December 2013, in a new law suit.
The Panhellenic journalist federation POESY praised the court decision and saluted “the struggling ERT employees in their fight against the anti-democratic ‘black out’ enforced upon the public broadcasting service by the government”.
SYRIZA MEP and former ERT employee Rania Svigou also applauded the court’s decision in a public statement and argued that it was the first such court decision to exonerate the dismissed employees.
The government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou argued that the court did not take into consideration the State Council’s ruling and as such, the State Legal Council was going to launch an appeal against the decision.
