DHAKA, Jan 28, 2026 (BSS) - The leaders of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) today demanded of the government to immediately form the 10th Wage Board for media professionals along with declaring an interim dearness allowance.

They also called for the full implementation of the 9th Wage Board award, including payment of arrears, in all media organizations where it has not yet been enforced.

In a joint statement issued today, BFUJ President Obaidur Rahman Shaheen and Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury, along with DUJ President Md Shahidul Islam and General Secretary Khurshid Alam, said that journalists, like the common people, are struggling to cope with the soaring prices of essential commodities, rising house rents, and increasing daily living expenses.

The leaders noted that although the 9th Wage Board for journalists was declared nearly a decade ago, but many media organizations have deliberately avoided its implementation through various tactics. As a result, journalists have long been subjected to discrimination and have been consistently demanding the formation and declaration of the 10th Wage Board. However, the fallen fascist government repeatedly ignored the issue, they alleged.

They further said that despite the fall of the autocratic fascist regime following the blood-soaked movement of journalists, students and the general masses during July-August 2024 uprising, and despite repeated demands over the last one and a half years, the interim government has paid no attention to the issue. No initiative has yet been taken to form a Wage Board implementation committee for journalists, they added.

The BFUJ and DUJ leaders said journalists are not opposed to salary and allowance increases for government officials or other professionals. However, the government must ensure that such measures do not exacerbate social inequality and that the concerns of other stakeholders are given due consideration.

Expressing deep frustration and sorrow, the leaders said that until the 4th Wage Board, journalists' salaries and benefits were higher than those of government employees, considering the difficult, risky and demanding nature of journalistic work. 

Subsequently, however, the bureaucrats at the center of power allegedly misled successive governments and repeatedly inflated their own pay and benefits, leaving journalists-widely regarded as the fourth pillar of the state-continuously neglected.

The journalist leaders reiterated their demand for the immediate formation of the 10th Wage Board and thus declaring it side by side urged the government to take effective steps to ensure the implementation of the 9th Wage Board, including arrears, in all media organizations. They also called upon the government to take effective steps to ensure regular payment of journalists' salaries and allowances.