BSS :
Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) has urged the media owners to pay the salaries and festival allowances to journalists of their respective media outlets before the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Azha to be celebrated in the country on July 21.
BFUJ leaders made the call at a virtual meeting with the executive committee members staying in the capital on Sunday night, said a BFUJ statement here on Tuesday.
BFUJ President Mollah Jalal chaired the meeting. At the meeting, the leaders simultaneously expressed grave concern over the recent incidents of lodging cases against and arresting journalists by misusing the Digital Security Act (DSA).
BFUJ acting Secretary General Abdul Majid conducted the meeting while its executive member and former president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, vice president Syed Ishtiaq Reza, treasurer Deep Azad, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) general secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu and BFUJ Office Secretary Barun Bhawmik Nayan and members Noore Jannat Akhtar Seema, Sebika Rani and Khairuzzaman Kamal took part in the meeting.
Along with call for paying salaries and allowances, the BFUJ also urged the media owners to pay the arrears and stop sacking the media workers without showing any sluggishness during the current pandemic situation due to the coronavirus. The highest trade body of the journalists also urged the government for taking actions against those media owners who will ignore the BFUJ’s call.
“With grave concern, the (journalists) leaders told the meeting that during this pandemic situation, misuse of the DSA is being noticed in the country. The act was misused against journalists in Thakurgaon, which is worrying and sorrowful matter,” the statement said.
Noting that such incidents will tarnish the image of the journalist-friendly government and its positive and successful works, the BFUJ leaders demanded the withdrawal of cases lodged against journalists in different parts of the country under the Digital Security Act.
Besides, the meeting decided to set another date for holding the representative council in the next meeting as the current Covid-19 situation prompted the organization to cancel the previously fixed date on July 31, the statement said.
