Regional body urges solutions for ANSA

(ANSA) - Rome, July 2 - Italy must come up with a plan to help resolve a dispute between news agency ANSA and its staff after the company announced intentions to restructure and cut staff, the leaders of the country's regions said on Thursday.
    Journalists at the Italian news agency went on strike last week after it announced the restructuring which includes plans to lay off 65 journalists due to a budget shortfall for 2015 estimated at five million euros.
    Italy's Conference of Regions said it hoped "solutions can be identified that do not affect the quality and thoroughness of the information services provided by ANSA, aside from not compromising the security of jobs".
    It urged authorities to "undertake any initiative that makes it easier to identify solutions with regard to the dispute between ANSA agency and its journalistic staff." In a document approved on Thursday, the council highlighted the value provided by ANSA's regional newsrooms and their role in ensuring "the right to information of the different local communities around the country". Andrea Marcucci, president of the Senate's education committee, met ANSA's journalist union to hear their views and said he would raise the option of convening a meeting at the prime minister's office for a discussion between the different parties.
    Italian writer Andrea Camilleri also expressed his solidarity with ANSA journalists on Thursday, saying "the democracy of a country is also measured by its freedom of information, like that guaranteed by ANSA."