From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to address those critical challenges facing media practitioners in the country.
According to the Congress, unlike Medical and Legal Practitioners, Media practitioners are suffering and their rights need to be protected.
The President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero made the appeal to the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Isiguzo when he and some members of the Congress were on media tour to the National Secretariat of the Union in Abuja.
Comrade Ajaero said being him a media practitioner before now, the welfare of our people is being under placed and we happen to be in that group that is for everybody and nobody is for us. Saying that media practitioners report on other people activities and achievements but they don’t report on their own achievements and challenges or hardship they are passing through.
He observed practice journalism is getting worse by the day even though he said technology has facilitated it that Journalists no longer travel to NITEL office to fax stories and send but beyond that the welfare is not something to take home.
“I repeat we are for everybody and we are not for ourselves, they sack journalists in media houses today, you guys will not report it but keep quiet, there are media houses that have been paid salaries for one year, you guys will not report it, what do we call it and let me ask so that we can talk to ourselves, they say when families meet and people are laughing, they throw themselves lies, but if everybody is frowning, it is like they have told themselves the whole truth, some of us were called in a debate on whether journalism is a profession or is a trade in NUJ because 90% of their members have unpaid employment and you are a professional, so who negotiates their condition of service or condition of living? Any one that does not employ convert his own rule, so we have to balance it as both profession or as a career”, he said.
The NLC President said there must be Consultative machinery for media practitioners that every two years what should be the minimum wage for them both at the state and federal level.
He noted that issue of holding journalists salaries is becoming a new norm and should not be encouraged.
Comrade Ajaero also looked at the issues of pension and insurance which he said are compulsory for media practitioners considering the risk of their job that on a daily basis they move from one place to another.
The NLC President while assuring the Union of the Congress readiness and support to join hands with the Union and fight those challenges facing media practitioners and profession, he also advocate for Media regulation, calling on the NUJ to accommodate online media and other aspects of media practices once they are qualified.
In his response, the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Isiguzo expressed his happiness over the media tour carried out by the leadership of Comrade Joe Ajaero and his team to the National Secretariat of the Union in Abuja.
Dr. Isiguzo also commended the efforts of the NLC to join hands with the Union to fight some of the critical challenges facing the media practitioners in this country.
He said the Media tour carried out by the NLC President and his team was an indication that the Nigeria Labour Congress has shown more love and is ready to support the Union. Adding that it is only the present leadership of the Congress for the first time visited the Union.
On the issue of Media regulation he said the Union recently has formed a committee with representative from the Federal Ministry of Information, Nigeria Bar Association and a representative from Legislature among others on how Media houses can be regulated. Believing that media is a unique profession that need to have some regulations.
The NUJ President noted there are online and radio stations on the daily basis are forming without following the due process simple because the Nigeria Constitution allow one to have freedom of Association and Expression and we cannot leave the profession just everybody to abuse it.
“There must be some forms of regulation ”, he said.