Indian journalists demand safety law and restoration of Working Journalists Act

The Indian Journalists Union has demanded a special law to protect working journalists and media organisations and called for the restoration of the Working Journalists Act. The demands were made on Friday as part of the union’s call to observe October 2 as “Demands Day”. The Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists organised a motorcycle rally in Vijayawada.

Participants paid floral tributes at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at New Bridge Centre and raised slogans in support of their demands. They later submitted a memorandum to Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao. IJU secretary-general D.

Somasundar called for the appointment of a Media Commission to examine the condition of the media industry. He also sought a law covering journalist safety and a Wage Board to revise journalists’ salaries. APUWJ president I.V.

Subbarao said the Andhra Pradesh coalition government had not fulfilled promises made to journalists during the election campaign, despite being in office for two and a half years. Subbarao said the government had promised house sites and housing for journalists but had made no progress. He demanded the immediate restoration of an accident insurance scheme and a tripartite monitoring mechanism for the Working Journalists Health Scheme.

The union also sought a pension scheme for senior journalists in Andhra Pradesh. Subbarao said 15 states already provided pensions to retired journalists. The organisations’ demands cover legal protection, pay, healthcare, insurance, housing and retirement support.

The source material did not include a response from the state government.