The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed measures enabling journalists'. Safety after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, but condemned some publishers who forced journalists to come to the newsdesk, Association of Serbia's Journalists (UNS) carried a statement on Tuesday.

„The health and safety of journalists are the priority. We call upon all media houses to take measures to protect journalists’ health at the workplace,“ the EFJ statement said.

„It’s unacceptable that some publishers don’t allow their employees to work on the network. The technological tools enable perfect remote execution of media tasks,“ the EFJ Secretary-General Ricardo Gutiérrez said.

The EFJ statement added it joined the European Trade Union Confederation ( ETUC) which called on the European Commission and the European Union member states to undertake urgent measures in line with Stability Pact and the growth and rules for state help.

Those measures, the EFJ said, should include financial aid to journalists and media people who were in quarantine or lose a job due to the coronavirus.

Special attention, according to the EFJ, should be paid to freelance journalists and media people and those who didn’t have permanent contracts.