9th Wage Board Award for journos at final stage

The 9th Wage Board Award will be announced soon, after a meeting of the cabinet committee on the issue and once Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gives her consent, Obaidul Quader, road transport and bridges minister, said yesterday.  

The committee, led by Quader, was formed to review the wage board award for journalists and employees of newspapers and news agencies. 

The minister made the remarks after a meeting where all the relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (Noab), journalist leaders, and employees of newspapers and news agencies, gave their statements on the wage board award. 

Obaidul’s comments come a day after factions of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) protested Wednesday’s Noab statement on the 9th Wage Board proposals, saying Noab’s statement was unrealistic and unacceptable.

Earlier, the Noab statement had termed the new wage board award unrealistic and said implementing it would be difficult as the industry was going through a hard time.

“We have heard everyone’s statements for the last time. Everyone shared their opinions and the matter is nearly in its final stages,” Quader told journalists after the meeting in the conference room of the Ministry of Information. 

“After talking to the cabinet committee, we will take the matter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to seek her advice before announcing the decision,” the minister added. 

Among others, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, president of Noab and also Editor and Publisher of Prothom Alo Matiur Rahman, Vice-president of Noab and also Publisher of Samakal AK Azad, The Daily Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, President of BFUJ Mollah Jalal, its Secretary General Saban Mahmud, and DUJ President Abu Zafar Surja and its General Secretary Sohel Haider Chowdhury were present at the meeting.