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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Economy & Trade

BFUJ and DUJ Rally for Immediate Formation of 10th Wage Board for Journalists

From Daily Star · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Bangladesh’s federal and Dhaka journalists’ unions demanded the immediate formation of the 10th Wage Board and an interim dearness allowance.
  • Speakers said rising prices and the incomplete implementation of the Ninth Wage Board Award have left many journalists facing severe financial pressure.
  • The unions urged the government to act and warned of street protests if media owners continue violating wage board provisions.

Bangladeshi journalist leaders have demanded the immediate formation of the 10th Wage Board, saying media professionals are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

The Dhaka Union of Journalists and Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists made the demand at a rally outside the Jatiya Press Club. BFUJ Secretary General Muhammed Kader Gani Chowdhury addressed the event as chief guest, while DUJ President Md Shahidul Islam presided. DUJ Joint General Secretary Didarul Alam Didar conducted the programme.

Speakers said many media outlets still had not implemented the Ninth Wage Board Award, announced in 2019, citing legal and administrative complications. They also criticised delays in forming an implementation committee for a new wage board and called for an interim dearness allowance for journalists and newspaper employees.

Senior journalists are dying; they cannot even pay their hospital bills.

· Muhammed Kader Gani ChowdhuryHe described the financial hardship facing journalists as living costs rise.

Chowdhury said journalists should receive an adjustment comparable to the government’s recent salary increases, which he said ranged from 100% to 142%. He cited higher prices for electricity, fuel, rice, lentils, flour, vegetables, clothing and other essentials. “Senior journalists are dying; they cannot even pay their hospital bills,” he said, adding that some long-serving journalists could not afford ambulance fares to transport deceased colleagues to their village homes.

He also contrasted journalists’ working conditions with those of government employees, who receive two weekly holidays, while journalists generally receive one day off. He urged the prime minister and the ministries of information and finance to announce the 10th Wage Board without delay, and called on media owners to pay salaries according to wage board provisions.

Referring to the 39-point demands submitted by BFUJ and DUJ, he said, “No Wage Board, No Media” was their foremost demand. He warned that journalists would take to the streets if owners continued to disregard the provisions.

No Wage Board, No Media.

· Muhammed Kader Gani ChowdhuryHe identified the unions’ main demand and warned of protests.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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