Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), President Joe Ajaero, has said that failure to pay journalists’ salaries should be considered a criminal offense.
Ajaero made this statement during a visit to the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Isiguzo, in Abuja.
The NLC boss stated that while journalists have played significant roles in the fight for independence and the current democracy that Nigerians enjoy, it is unfortunate that they often have to beg for their salaries.
“The welfare of journalists is being underplayed. While journalists are a group of professionals fighting for everyone, nobody is fighting for them; they are not even fighting for themselves,” Ajaero said.
“Journalists do not have weekends, public holidays, or festive seasons. They work and report on the activities of people who are enjoying weekends, public holidays, and festivities.
“Even when a journalist is sacked or not paid for a year, other journalists will not write a story on such injustice.
“I am advocating for a consultative mechanism to be held every two years, to negotiate with all media employers in the country to fix a minimum wage for journalists.
“Additionally, there should be a pension that all journalists should receive after retiring from the job. Insurance coverage is another benefit that journalists should have to improve their working conditions.
“Non-payment of journalists’ salaries should not be tolerated and should be treated as a criminal offense.”
Ajaero, however, acknowledged that it has not been easy for publishers but insisted that should not be an excuse to withhold salaries.
He said most reporters spend their meagre salaries on transportation for their job, which is unacceptable.
He also noted that while we are in the era of social and online media, there is a need to regulate online media practices.
“It should be regulated in such a way that online media practitioners will be part of the NUJ. You need to accommodate them and know what they are doing.”
