Ninth wage board for journos formed
The government yesterday constituted the 9th wage board to propose enhanced salaries and other benefits for journalists and employees in newspapers and news agencies.
The board comprises equal number of representatives from owners, journalists and employees or workers of newspapers and news agencies and a chairman, an official circular said.
It said the 13-member body was formed in line with the section 143 of Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 with Supreme Court Appellate Division's former judge Justice Mohammed Nizamul Huq as its chairman.
The owners who were made members are Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (Noab) President Matiur Rahman, Vice President AK Azad, Treasurer Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, members Mahfuz Anam and Tasmima Hossain and convener of Bangladesh Sangbadpatra Parishad MG Kibria Chowdhury.
Representatives from journalists are Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul and Secretary General Omar Faruk.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Newspaper Workers' Federation President M Motiur Rahman Talukder, Secretary General M Khairul Islam, Bangladesh Federal Union of Newspaper Press Workers President Mohammad Alamgir Hossian Khan and Secretary General Mohammad Kamal Uddin are representing from the employees and workers.
Information ministry Joint Secretary M Mizan-Ul-Alam will perform as the secretary of the ninth wage board.
The board was asked to submit its full proposal to the authorities concerned for enhancing the salaries, allowances and fringe benefits in the next six months.
It was also asked to consider the issues of cost of living, capacity of newspapers, comparative structures of salaries for services in government and private organisations while recommending the proposed enhancement.
But for the interim period until the formulation of the proposal, the board was entrusted with recommending dearness allowances (DA).
The circular said the board was asked to formulate a set of recommendations for the workers in the electronic media reviewing legal perspectives.