The NGO “Young Barristers” has prepared a monitoring about salaries, bonuses, salary supplements and travel expenses paid to the Director General, Deputy Directors, members and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the members of Monitoring Council and Public Council of the Georgian Public Broadcaster. Taking into consideration the fact, that GPB is financed from the State budget, the organization concludes, that wage policy is obviously discriminatory, the source of the salaries, paid to some TV hosts representing certain social and political programs are unknown and funding specific projects, regardless its importance and need, is extremely poor.
Salome Goglidze, a lawyer with “Young Barristers” says, that the organization has researched information about GPB for the period between January 1, 2013 to May, 2015. The salary of the Director General of GPB has amounted 27500.00 GEL by May, 2015, while during 2013-2014 , this amount was 132,000 in total. The salary of the Deputy General Director has reached 115,000 GEL in total (from 2013 to May, 2015). The Salary of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees has amounted 18500,00 GEL by May 2015, 44400,00 GEL - in 2014 and 37500,00 GEL in 2013. The salaries of the members of the Board of Trustees are high as well. In particular, the salaries given to all of them together have amounted 79950,00 GEL by May, 2015, 187350,00 GEL – in 2014 and 251476,00 GEL in 2013. The monitoring reveals, that by May 2015, 7000,00 GEL was allocated for monitoring council salaries; in 2014 this amount reached 111042,00 GEL. The information, researched by organization makes it clear, that it is only the members of Public Council, who doesn’t receive any salary within the system of GPB.
As we have mentioned above, “Young Barristers” has researched an issue of business trips of the high ranking employees of GPB as well. The letter from GPB to the organization “Young Barristers” of June 8 2015, reveals, that the most money to cover travel expenses was allocated for the Director General of GPB, amounting 38831,04 GEL in total (from January 2013 to May 2015). While travel expenses of the Deputy Directors amounted 60179,6 GEL in total during the same period of time. The information indicates, that during 2014-2015, the Board of Trustees has not received any travel expenses, however in 2013, travel expenses, allocated for its members in 2013, amounted 4037,7 GEL.
Regardless our request, GBP refused to submit public information about salaries, bonuses and travel expenses provided for TV hosts of certain political and social TV shows. The organization was also rejected, without any justification, to get information about the monthly salaries, bonuses, salary supplements and business trips of the employees of radio 1 and radio 2 of the Public Broadcaster as well. Beyond this, list of editorial staff of the TV and radio programs remain unknown. GPB explains, that “the purpose of the budget, allocated for PB is determined in general, (for everything), meaning, there is no budget classification according to the genres and types of specific TV programs”.
“Young Barristers” believes, that GPB should respond to the public interest and publish information about salaries and other kinds of payments to their employees on the official web-page of the television. Moreover, the monitoring shows, that the policy of “tightening belts” announced by the Government has not been reflected on GPB as on the state funded institution. Besides, “Young Barristers” would like to note, that TV programming of the television doesn’t include programs, that would give information to the public about country’s European Integration process and increase awareness of the public society about reforms implemented by the Government in this regard, as well as about activities of the court authority and about other important issues as well.
