Shafiq Allam, press secretary to the interim government’s chief advisor, commented on the need to abolish the wage council system and implement the minimum wage for journalists.
He made the comment while speaking about journalists’ salaries in a discussion titled “Dialogue for Democratic Reconstruction: Media Issues” on Sunday afternoon (December 22).
The press secretary said that the wage board system should be abolished and a minimum wage should be introduced. The wedge plate system is faulty. He must not be employed for less than the basic salary. Minimum wage laws must be strictly enforced. If anyone hires more than the minimum wage, his company will be closed down.
He said that secret newspapers must be exposed. Journalists get paid less because of them.
Pointing out that journalism is not a cheap thing, Shafiq Al-Alam said that content protection should be provided in the case of news. Those who create original content should have copyright protection.
He said that the work of the press wing of the Awami League government is to stop the news. But the current interim government does nothing of the sort.
The press secretary also said that journalists need a strong union. The government is trying to reform the unions to make them independent. The next government may take steps to stop it. There should be a voice against that too. Various media failures should be identified and their repetition stopped.