Dhaka Reporters Unity on Sunday urged the government to immediately implement the ninth wage board award, form the tenth wage board, and introduce two weekly holidays for journalists.
In a joint statement, DRU president Abu Saleh Akon and general secretary Mainul Hassan Sohel said that many media houses did not follow a structured pay scale and failed to pay journalists proper salaries.
They noted that although successive governments had pledged to implement the wage board, the promises had largely remained unfulfilled, leaving journalists in severe financial hardship amid rising living costs.
The statement called for urgent steps to implement the ninth wage board, constitute the tenth wage board, and ensure a unified wage structure across newspapers, online platforms, television, radio, and multimedia outlets.
The DRU leaders also highlighted the absence of fixed working hours, saying journalists often leave home as early as 8:00am and return as late as 11:00pm.
In many institutions, they added, journalists are told they do not fall under the eight-hour work rule, effectively putting them on duty around the clock.
They stressed that while government offices and many private institutions enjoy two weekly holidays, journalists have neither fixed duty hours nor guaranteed weekly days off, leading to serious physical and mental stress. They demanded two weekly holidays without further delay.
Criticising the growing trend of arbitrary termination, the leaders said that no journalist should be dismissed without just cause and that all benefits under the wage board had to be ensured before any termination.
The statement also referred to recent pay hikes for government employees, noting that effective from July 1, 2025, the government raised basic salaries by 10 per cent, which includes an additional 5 per cent on top of the annual increment.
Additionally, the government formed the 23-member National Pay Commission 2025, headed by former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, to recommend further salary adjustments.
鈥榃hile government employees are enjoying pay hikes and benefits, the ninth wage board for journalists remains unimplemented, and the tenth wage board has not yet been formed,鈥� the DRU leaders said.
