State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury, has said the government will take necessary steps to implement the wage board for journalists and raise the issue in the Cabinet, if necessary.
“If journalists are not provided with proper facilities and benefits, good journalists will lose interest in the profession and new good journalists will not emerge,” he said while exchanging views with leaders of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at the Secretariat on Sunday.
The state minister said ensuring the protection and welfare of journalists is essential as they play an important role in providing people with accurate information.
There had been a longstanding deadlock over the wage board and that the Ninth Wage Board had not been properly implemented, he said, adding discussions on the issue of the 10th Wage Board had also brought up the need to implement the 9th Wage Board.
The Ministry is holding discussions with the Ministry of Labour and other relevant authorities on the matter, he said, adding that the initiative would be strengthened further.
He also urged media owners to be sincere about the rights and welfare of journalists, saying government announcements alone would not bring the desired benefits unless the concerned media organisations implemented them.
He stressed the need to define who should be recognised as a journalist, saying professional journalists with years of experience were facing threats from fake journalists who identify themselves as journalists through various online portals and social media platforms.
Such practices also harm the public and democracy, he said.
He also urged the journalist organisations to jointly submit proposals on the criteria for recognising journalists.
Regarding the Cyber Security Act, Yasser said the law was not being formulated to control the media or prevent journalists from writing.
“Its main objective is to ensure the safety of the people,” he said, adding that cyber security was necessary to tackle harassment, false information and misinformation spread through fake social media accounts.
The government was considering a proposal from journalists that court permission should be obtained before taking legal action against a media outlet or journalist if a published report inadvertently violates the law, he said.
The state minister said the government believes in media freedom and freedom of expression and would not interfere in how the media operates.
He said the government was working to ensure an environment where journalists could work independently.
Yasser urged the journalists’ organisations to submit their demands in writing, saying written proposals would help the government take steps for their implementation and undertake follow-up measures.
He also stressed the importance of continuing such exchanges with journalists’ organisations.
DUJ President Md Shahidul Islam said journalists work day and night to bring news to the people and often perform their duties at risk to their lives, but many of them are deprived of fair remuneration.
He urged the government to take initiatives to implement the wage board.
DUJ General Secretary Khurshid Alam said content creators should not identify themselves as journalists and called for action against those who open Facebook pages and introduce themselves as journalists.
He also sought coordinated government initiatives for the welfare of journalists.
DUJ Joint General Secretary Md Didarul Alam Didar said journalists had been deprived of their rights due to the prolonged non-implementation of the wage board.
He demanded the immediate announcement of the 10th Wage Board and urged the government to take strict action against newspapers and media organisations that fail to implement it, including by withholding government advertisements and supplements.