Thursday, October 16, 2003. News from La Primera de Televisión Española. After finishing News 1, around four in the afternoon, Alfredo Urdaci read a document delivered by the National Court: the resolution of a lawsuit filed by Workers’ Commissions, for “violation of the fundamental rights to strike and freedom of association” after the informative treatment of the 2002 general strike, held on June 20. Urdaci pronounced the following:
“The Social Chamber of the National Court has favorably considered the lawsuit filed by the union ‘Ce ce o o’ against Radiotelevisión Española and Televisión Española S.A., for violation of the fundamental rights to strike and freedom of association as a consequence of the information treatment offered during the last strike of June 20, 2002. The ruling, which is not final, obliges Spanish Television to broadcast, for one day, complete information of the ruling in all its News News. Radio Televisión Española and Televisión Española S.A., have appealed this ruling before the Social Chamber of the Supreme Court.”
The use of the acronym instead of the full name of the union, as well as the speed, the black background on which he pronounced them and the omission of the word “general”, among others, caused one of the greatest controversies in Spanish news history. . A controversy that has resurfaced after Urdaci announced his return to RTVE. The one who was director of News between 2000 and 2004 has confirmed to El Mundo that he regains his position after a 10-year leave of absence and another 7 years of legal battle.
To understand the controversy that the reading of the ruling caused, we must go back to the spring of 2002, when the second government of José María Aznar announced a labor reform that outraged the unions. Among other measures, the disappearance of the PER was proposed, the obligation to accept any job offer after a year of unemployment within a radius of 30 kilometers – even if the salary was lower – and reprimands without benefits for rejecting up to three offers or training courses.
This reform would end up being known as the “decretazo” after being approved by Royal Decree-Law on May 24, despite complaints from social agents and mobilizations. Two days before, after being denied the withdrawal of the proposal, UGT and CCOO called a general strike for June 20, where Urdaci’s treatment came into play. The journalist was accused of manipulating information and causing “serious damage to the activity of dissemination, advertising and truthful information.”
The lawsuit was filed on March 21, 2003, and was ruled in favor of CCOO on July 23, condemning RTVE to issue a statement during all the news programs of one day. However, the way in which Urdaci explained it generated even more controversy, with the union calling the reading a “childish tantrum.” Seven months later, after 11M and the 2004 elections, Urdaci would be dismissed as news director and request a 10-year leave of absence, which would begin his long legal battle.
