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November 01, 2025 – Bangladesh –
Journalists across Bangladesh mobilized for nationwide rallies on Saturday, united under the call “No Wage Board, No Media,” and presented a 39-point charter of demands. The demonstrations, organized by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), convened in major cities including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barishal, Khulna, Gazipur, Mymensingh, and Narayanganj.
At the rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka, BFUJ Secretary-General Kader Gani Chowdhury formally submitted the demands, while Dhaka Union of Journalists President Shahidul Islam and Jatiya Press Club President Hasan Hafiz addressed the gathering.
Among the chief demands are immediate implementation of the ninth wage board and formation of a tenth, alongside a unified wage board covering print, electronic, online, and multimedia journalists. Journalists are also insisting on the formal inclusion of a “No Wage Board, No Media” policy to guarantee equitable pay and benefits. They are calling for a separate labor court for media workers, the introduction of two weekly holidays, the abolition of anti-media laws, and strong protections against harassment, intimidation, and killings of journalists, with particular reference to unlocked-accountability cases such as the murder of the journalist couple known as Sagar-Runi.
Additional demands focus on written employment contracts, timely salary payments, accident and health insurance for media staff, recognition of the media industry as a formal sector, tax reductions on newsprint imports, and an end to arbitrary dismissals and intelligence-agency interference in newsroom operations. BFUJ articulated that these demands reflect a vision of media operating “free, without fear or favor” and serving as a responsible force in upholding truth.
The televised nationwide action underscores a rare moment of unified mobilization within Bangladesh’s press community, as journalists across regions rallied simultaneously for systemic reform of their work conditions and the environment in which they perform their vital watchdog role.
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/journalists-across-bangladesh-demonstrate-39-point-demand-1274536
