The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has lamented the poor welfare of journalists in the country, News About Nigeria reports.
The president, Joe Ajaero, made this known while speaking during a visit to the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr Chris Isiguzo in Abuja.
He noted that the welfare of journalists is being ignored and downplayed despite playing significant roles in the fight for independence and the current democracy Nigerians are enjoying.
According to him, journalists sacrifice a lot for citizens, including public holidays and festive seasons, while working and reporting on the activities of those enjoying the holidays.
He lamented that it is unfortunate that the same people who are working hard for others are begging for their salaries to be paid.
“The welfare of journalists is being underplayed. While journalists are a group of professionals fighting for everyone, nobody is for them; they are not even for themselves.
“Journalists do not have weekends, public holidays, or festive season. They work and report on the activities of people that are enjoying weekends, public holidays, and festivities.
“Even when a journalist is sacked or not paid for one year, other journalists will not write a story on such injustice,” he stated.
He further lamented that the practice of journalism is getting worse by the day, though technology has enhanced the practice.
He, therefore, advocated that a negotiation with all media employers in the county be had every two years to fix the minimum wage for journalists.
He also appealed that there should be a pension that all journalists should enjoy after retiring from the job, adding that insurance cover should be added for journalists to make them enjoy the work better.
