Development of media not possible without ensuring journos’ rights

Journalist leaders yesterday expressed concern over sacking of employees in many media houses and not clearing their arrears properly.

They demanded that the government should play a proactive role in eliminating such crisis by revising different policies including the newly-announced ninth wage board.

They were speaking at a roundtable on “Existing crisis in media: protecting journalists’ interests”, organised by Sangbadik Swartha Suraksha Parishad at Jatiya Press Club.

Speaking at the discussion, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, editor of The Daily Observer, urged the government to offer incentives to newspaper owners so that they could properly pay salaries to their employees.

“If there is inconsistency in the announced wage board, it has to be removed as the development of media cannot be possible without establishing the rights of journalists and other media staffers,” he said.

Demanding publishing of a revised wage board, Sohel Haider Chowdhury, general secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), alleged that this wage board has been prepared to serve the interests of owners, and not journalists.

“In the new wage board, several benefits -- which journalists were enjoying for the last four decades, were cut down. Gratuity has been reduced to one from two. Also, it introduced income tax payment by journalists, which was earlier paid by owners,” he said.

He also blamed journalists’ “own weakness” for such crisis. “Those who were fired did not even come to the union office,” he added.

Rashed Ahmed, trustee of Broadcast Journalist Center, alleged that many journalists in the electronics media are being fired unfairly. “Proper policies including wage board should be introduced for TV media,” he recommended.

Saban Mahmud, secretary general of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), said journalist platforms should strongly protest the role of media owners who are ignoring the interests of journalists while introducing policies.

Mizanul Alam, additional secretary to information ministry, said they will inform the authorities concerned of journalists’ demands so proper initiatives can be taken.

With DUJ former general secretary Kuddus Afrad in the chair, Dhaka Reporters’ Unity President Elias Hossain, journalist Ajoy Dasgupta and BFUJ executive member Khairuzzaman Kamal, among others, spoke at the discussion.