The Ondo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday urged state governments and other media owners to improve the welfare package of journalists.
The Chairman of the state NUJ, Mr James Sowole, made the plea in a statement in Akure, in felicitation with media professionals on the occasion of the 2016 World Press Freedom Day.
Sowole decried the suffering of journalists, arising from non-payment of backlog of salaries by some private newspapers’ proprietors and state governments.
He said that journalists could not perform their responsibilities as watchdogs of the ruling class when they were being poorly paid or not being paid at all by their employers.
The chairman commended recent moves by the national leadership of the NUJ to picket head offices of some newspaper houses in Lagos and Abuja, that were owing workers’ salaries.
He urged the leadership of the NUJ to hasten negotiations on the new Media Salary structure (MSS).
Sowole expressed satisfaction with the cordial relationship between journalists and security agents in the state.
He urged the state government to reposition the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) for better service delivery.
Sowole advised journalists in the state to desist from unethical conduct, “especially as the 2016 Governorship election is approaching in the state’’.
