Increase Our Pay, NUJ Tells Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari[/caption]
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps towards the increment of the salaries of journalists and other media workers in the country.
Chairman of the Lagos Council of the union, Deji Elumoye, made the call during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Friday.
Elumoye, who said that the present pay of workers in most media organisations was nothing to write home about, added that the remuneration was not commensurate with the kind of services rendered by the journalists, who worked even at odd hours.
According to him, media workers should have a special salary structure like lecturers and others who render specialised services.
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He said, “Journalists are very important people in the society, given the kind of services they render, the long hours they have to put into their work and the hazards they face.
“Ironically, there is room for improvement in the kind of pay media workers earn today and we are saying it is time the government fast-tracks the implementation of the special media salary scale proposed by the NUJ.
“Journalists, just like teachers, lecturers and doctors are not like other civil servants, so media workers should have a special salary structure like lecturers and others who render specialised services.
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“The government should put its change mantra to work in this area by ensuring that the journalists are adequately rewarded, in line with their enormous contributions to national development,” he said.
