Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan today spoke as the chief guest at an iftar party and exchanged views with members of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in Dhaka. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Mar 6, 2026 (BSS) - Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan today said ensuring a respectable wage board for journalists is essential to elevate the media industry to a dignified level and retain talented professionals in the profession.

He said even workers in the garment industry enjoy a certain level of job security, whereas journalists often lack similar protection.

The minister made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at an iftar party and views-exchange meeting with members of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital this evening.

Swapan said the media industry cannot operate under any law that allows owners to avoid paying journalists’ salaries. 

“It cannot be that a talented journalist goes unpaid simply because the owner did not make a profit,” he said, adding that without resolving such problems the media sector would never achieve a proper institutional structure.

The minister said implementing the wage board and ensuring accountability in the overall process of newspaper registration are matters of national interest.

“The government cannot only collect praise while bearing the responsibility for criticism of mistakes. The media is a major stakeholder of the ministry, so we must look at the problem through the same lens. If the diagnosis of the problem is not correct, the treatment will not work,” he added.

The minister stressed the need for consensus to resolve problems in the media industry and said a series of dialogues with all journalists’ unions and organisations would begin soon.
He asked each organisation to nominate three to five expert representatives who have the depth of study and observation to properly identify the problems and propose effective solutions.

Referring to advertising and government grants, the minister warned that public money cannot be spent outside policy guidelines. “I am not a landlord who can give it to whoever I wish. We will very soon bring everything under a clear policy framework,” he said.

Talking about technological transformation, the minister said the current period is a “hybrid system,” where some people are using modern technology while others still depend on traditional methods. 

Maintaining professional standards during this transition is a major challenge, he added.

Addressing journalists, he said they should not focus only on criticism but also provide positive proposals to the state. 

“If there are multiple proposals, we will choose the most sustainable solution from them,” he added.

DRU President Abu Saleh Akon  chaired the event while its General Secretary Mynul Hasan Sohel conducted the event.

During the session, the DRU general secretary placed several proposals before the information minister. 

He said amid rising commodity prices, it is now necessary to implement a realistic wage board for journalists, introduce two weekly holidays, allow five days of leave for each of the two Eid festivals and launch a retirement allowance.

The minister assured that he would soon sit with all stakeholders to find practical solutions to these proposals.

Prime Minister's Press Secretary Saleh Shibly, former general secretary of Jatiya Press Club Elias Khan, Managing Director of the Journalists Welfare Trust Muhammad Abdullah, Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan, Dhaka Union of Journalists General Secretary Khurshid Alam, and former and current leaders of DRU were present.