Journos to rally today demanding 10th wage board, dearness allowance
BFUJ Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury and DUJ General Secretary Khurshid Alam jointly urged journalists and leaders of various professional organisations to participate in the rally on time.
The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) will hold a protest rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club today (3 September).
The rally will be held demanding the immediate formation of the 10th Wage Board Award for media workers, the announcement of an interim dearness allowance and the implementation of the 9th Wage Board, including arrears.
The information was disclosed in a press release issued by the two journalist organisations today.
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BFUJ Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury and DUJ General Secretary Khurshid Alam jointly urged journalists and leaders of various professional organisations to participate in the rally on time.
In a joint statement, DUJ President Md Shahidul Islam and General Secretary Khurshid Alam expressed deep concern, saying the journalist community was in severe financial distress amid rising prices of essential commodities and increasing daily expenses.
BFUJ-DUJ leaders alleged, "Many media outlets have yet to implement the 9th Wage Board Award, announced for journalists nearly a decade ago, citing various legal and administrative excuses.
Despite repeated demands to the interim government following the fall of the autocratic regime through the blood-stained movement of students, people and journalists in July-August 2024, no effective initiative has been taken to form an implementation committee for a new Wage Board Award for journalists, they said.
They said a substantial salary increase had recently been approved under the national pay scale for government employees, but increasing benefits only for government employees, excluding media workers, would create severe inequality in society.
The journalist leaders said journalists' salaries and allowances had been better than those of government employees up to the 4th Wage Board Award. However, due to bureaucratic complications, the journalist community has now been neglected.
They demanded the immediate announcement of the 10th Wage Board, ensuring regular payment of salaries and allowances and effective government measures to implement the 9th Wage Board award, including arrears at the media outlets which have not yet implemented it.
