Janakantha journos seek PM’s intervention

A group of journalists of daily Janakantha yesterday demanded intervention of the prime minister in stopping wholesale termination and implementation of wage board at the newspaper.

Under the banner of "Janakantha Sangbadik Oikya Parishad", they made the demand at a press conference held at the office of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ).

Rajan Bhattacharya, senior reporter and chief of DUJ Janakantha unit, read out a statement, where he said wholesale termination at the newspaper has started.

Authorities of Janakantha prepared a list of 60 journalists on Monday, the first day of the termination, and issued the termination letter to 26 of them through email, he said.

As DUJ started to protest in front of Jankantha Bhaban since Monday afternoon, they did not issue any more termination letter, he said. Rajan said they held the movement from 4pm to 2am, where many journalists took part.

He said since the last eight years there's been no promotion or increment at Janakantha and most journalists of the newspaper are not under the wage board.

Rajan said they asked the newspaper authorities to implement a wage board for all as well as promotion and salary increment following trade union law. But the authorities terminated them instead of realising their demands, he added.

Rajan said they had met the home minister under the leadership of DUJ president Quddus Afrad and general secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu on Monday night and the home minister spoke with the information minister several times over phone in this regard.

"We were informed that a tripartite meeting among the government, owner [of Janakantha] and DUJ will be held on March 20 to resolve the issue. We have stopped our movement until then," he said.

WILL NOT WRITE FOR JANAKANTHA: GAFFAR CHOWDHURY

Showing solidarity with the journalists of Janakantha, eminent journalist and columnist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury yesterday announced that he will not write any column for the daily if its authorities do not withdraw the termination of the journalists.

He made the remark through an email sent from London on Monday.