The following petition is being launched by journalists already using the Iris system, with support from elected officials of various trade unions at AFP. The petition does not call for a return to the "Phase 3" editorial system.
IRIS PETITION
Repeated breakdowns of the new Iris editorial system are having serious consequences for AFP’s bureaus, production services, desks and clients.
Without questioning the commitment and skill of the teams responsible for Iris, we wish to stress that these repeated breakdowns are having a serious effect on journalists’ working conditions.
We the undersigned therefore wish to express our exasperation over the the many glitches in the working of Iris, experienced on a daily basis since the system first went live. We are astonished at the attitude of AFP management, which asserts that everything is fine and that Iris does not change our working conditions.
It would therefore be reasonable to acknowledge that Iris as it now stands is not up to scratch. We believe that management should take an in-depth look at its method for rolling out Iris and should halt what is starting to look like a headlong rush to deployment, at a time when the system is clearly not yet stable.
TO SIGN THE PETITION (AFP journalists only)
If you are viewing this page from within the AFP’s network, you can see a regularly updated list of signatories along with instructions on how to sign at:
http://asap.afp.com/asap/document/5df473b6-98e1-46ac-9346-0e8afbeb3020