Journalists meet in Abuja to advocate better welfare

The Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) and the Coalition of Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) are organising a round table discussion to advocate better welfare for journalists.

The event will hold at the Civic Innovation Lab in Wuse 2, Abuja, on Tuesday, August 28, while a social media campaign for the same purpose will hold on the same day.

In a statement, Stephanie Adams, spokesperson of the campaign, said the coalition had identified poor remuneration as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry.

She said the coalition believes the campaign would create a positive impact on Nigerian journalists by helping find ways of restoring their dignity.

“The campaign is to advocate for and highlight the welfare status of journalists in Nigeria while seeking new creative responses for better working conditions of service for journalists, including welfare provisions for journalists and their families in the event of proven cases of extreme hardship and neglect by their employers,” the statement read.

“The wider ramifications of the problem is that most media organisations also do not pay salaries, as well as benefits like pension, insurance and other statutory requirements like tax remittances.”