Updated at 10am with strike action

All Broadcasting Authority employees went out on a one-hour strike this morning amid calls for the immediate resignation of chairwoman Tanya Borg Cardona.

Following months of intimidation, bullying and insults, workers had reached their limit and were saying loud and clear that "enough is enough", UĦM general secretary Josef Vella told a press conference in front of the BA premises in Ħamrun.

Speaking to Times of Malta yesterday, BA officials said they had had “more than enough” from Ms Borg Cardona, recounting episodes of alleged bullying, insults and abuse.

Tanya Borg Cardona of the Broadcasting Authority. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Mr Vella said that the industrial actions were ordered only as a last resort as workers felt they were being ignored by the authorities.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, he said, failed to intervene even though a workers' petition with claims of bullying was sent to him.

Mr Vella said that the union would escalate its actions if no solution was found to the stalemate.

Describing Ms Borg Cardona as having no knowledge of broadcasting and with a brash attitude, several workers said that since her appointment 13 months ago, they have suffered abuse and acts of bullying.

“Problems between the staff and the chairwoman started from day one. At a meeting she told us that we are not needed and that the authority can work with just a handful of people. She called us lazy and having no purpose in life,” said an officer who has been at the authority for many years.

Claiming that the chairwoman seemed to be only interested in office aesthetics, an employee recounted how one day, Ms Borg Cardona turned up at the office and in a rage starting throwing away personal items from the desks of employees.

“After telling us that she doesn't want to see any personal items on our desks, such as family photos or CDs, she stormed into an office and cleared away the desk of a quiet female employee by throwing all her stuff into a bin.

She called us lazy and having no purpose in life

“She then ordered another employee to take photos of what she had done and to distribute them to the staff,” another official recounted.

In an e-mail on this incident, which was seen by this newspaper, the government-appointed chairwoman told the staff she was “getting her hands dirty” and warned them that what had happened to the “quiet” employee would happen to them if they didn’t follow her rules.

“By Saturday morning, I will start at reception and go through room by room, and the same will happen,” she warned her staff.

“The dirt – yes, dirt – is endemic of how you all treat the authority,” she said. Asked about the claims made by employees and also for her reaction, Ms Borg Cardona did not comment.

“For the time being it will not be prudent to comment,” was her only response when Times of Malta pointed out the claims.

The new claims follow a letter that was sent to the Prime Minster last month and signed by the majority of the BA staff.

Pointing out her “unsavoury character”, BA employees told the Prime Minister of “intimidation, bullying and victimisation” towards them.

According to the employees’ letter, “after appointing her, the Prime Minister is now keeping her at arm’s length, stating that he cannot do anything, since the Broadcasting Authority is a constitutional body”.

Last month, the Nationalist Party said it had lost all faith in the BA chairwoman following reports of clashes between employees and Ms Borg Cardona.

However, some employees say Ms Borg Cardona is still backed by the two authority members nominated by the Labour Party – former l-Oriżżont editor Frans Ghirxi and lawyer Alessandro Lia.