KARACHI: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has called for a protest on Oct 22 against continued retrenchments, delay in payment of salaries and implementation of the Eighth Wage Award and increasing censorship and press advice.

In a statement, the PFUJ urged all unions of journalists to start preparing for the countrywide protest.

PFUJ president Shahzada Zulfiqar and secretary general Nasir Zaidi said it was high time to raise voice for the community’s demands and start preparations by engaging with labour unions, student organisations and civil society.

They said heavy retrenchments and lay offs of journalists and workers from different organisations, apart from denial of salaries for the past 15 months, cannot be ignored anymore.

They regretted that owners of news organisations were avoiding implementation of the wage award, which shows disrespect to the journalist community.

Therefore, the entire media community and journalist bodies must forge unity among their ranks while preparing for the strike in support of their demands.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2020