The bill calls for the enforcement of the work contracts of those who were fired when the previous government abruptly and unceremoniously closed down ERT in June 2013. 2,700 staff were made redundant in the move, which was part of the New Democracy led government's austerity-inspired reform measures. One of the coalition partners, though, Democratic Left, quit the coalition in protest.
Since the closure, a number of former staff of the channel have continued to broadcast over the internet, whilst the state has opened a new public channel, NERIT. The Athens Court of First Instance has since judged that ERT's employees were illegally fired in the closure, and that the 198 staff who appealed their redundancy should be rehired. The bill will seek to audit NERIT and include it in the new ERT, which according to the draft legislation will be competitive, and fulfill the goal of informing, educating and entertaining the public, independently of state influence or those of private interests.
The government have said that funding will come from the fee imposed for the public broadcaster which is collected through utility bills, and so it will not create new state expenditure, though Greece's creditors have expressed concern that rehiring ERT employees would entail a burden on state coffers.