Employees of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) held a protest today to announce the start of a labour strike scheduled for Monday, citing months-long delays in salary payments.
The protest comes a week after the RTK Workers’ Union sent an open letter to Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, urging him to immediately allocate the broadcaster’s budget. The same appeal was also addressed to the Kosovo Assembly.
Gathered in front of the RTK headquarters, workers demanded that the government intervene without delay. Gëzim Bimbashi from the RTK Workers’ Union called on Kurti to “act as he did in August” and release the payments.
“The situation at RTK has worsened while institutions remain silent. More than 700 families of RTK employees are struggling to survive. They are under pressure from banks, facing debts and daily anxiety about the future. This is not an economic crisis — this is a crisis of identity. I want to make it clear that this situation can be resolved immediately, without any delay, by a decision of the caretaker Prime Minister, Albin Kurti. All other justifications involving commissions or procedures are political battles. Do not drag RTK workers into political fights,” Bimbashi stated, as reported by Ekonomia Online.
As part of their protest, workers have called on all RTK employees to stop working for one hour – between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Months of Protests and Unpaid Wages
This is not the first time RTK employees have taken to the streets in recent months. The most recent protest was held on November 6 in Pristina, while similar demonstrations took place in August when about 700 staff members went unpaid for the first time in RTK’s history.
The issue stems from a prolonged institutional deadlock that has delayed the adoption of Kosovo’s 2025 budget. According to the union, funds allocated to RTK for the second half of 2025 were supposed to be disbursed on July 31 but remain frozen.
The Ombudsperson of Kosovo, as well as several media associations, have repeatedly called for the urgent resolution of this issue.
While the caretaker government has previously said it is “seeking a legal solution” for the public broadcaster’s budget, no concrete steps have been taken since August, leaving hundreds of RTK workers in limbo.
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