atv employees on 10 day paid leave
ATV announced Tuesday that it was giving its employees a 10 day paid vacation till the first of September. The channel which was taken off the air earlier this month said it was giving its staff a paid leave until they receive an official notification from the authorities to resume its broadcast.
The station's Managing Director had informed his staff through an internal memorandum that they would be given a 10 day paid leave and requested that they be on call for any possible developments. The heads of departments at ATV will continue business as usual.
ATV had announced that it would go live on August 1st , after completing all final preparations. The channel’s signal was taken down by the authorities 24 hours prior to the official launch date. ATV received a letter from the Audio Visual Commission informing it that it would not be able to resume its broadcast and has since been waiting for a go ahead.
ATV Managing Director expressed his regret and dismay regarding the move, but blamed the bureaucratic process for this unjustified action. ATV has incurred financial losses and had to implement fundamental changes in the channel’s plans for the launch, especially that Ramadan is around the corner.
“the authorities have pushed us to take this unfortunate step at this sensitive juncture right before the holy month of Ramadan. The channel has been gearing up to offer special Ramadan programs and drama series at great cost”.
He added: "I think it’s disgraceful that a media pioneering project of this kind is facing artificial hurdles of this sort, and to be at the mercy of a bunch of bureaucrats living in the old age."
ATV is home to some 330 full time employees and has contracted many local producers to produce some its programs which will help revive the local TV production sector in Jordan.
