Umuahia: The President of the NUJ, Malam Mohammad Garba, has said that the union has concluded negotiation with the Federal Government on the planned Media Salary Structure.

At a town hall meeting with journalists in Umuahia, Garba said that the union was working to ensure that journalists got a salary structure that was commensurate with their professional duties.

He said that the NUJ made it clear to government that journalism was a specialised profession and that media practitioners should be accorded such status like their peers in other professions.

He said that the NUJ had been able to achieve an increase of up to 22 per cent for weighing allowance and that they were waiting to sign the agreement with government.

“Once this is implemented at the federal level it will be the basis for negotiation for state media workers.”

Garba frowned at the level of indebtedness to media workers by their employers, and said that the situation was putting undue pressure on journalists.

He said that the NUJ had concluded plans to picket any media organisation that owed upwards of two months salaries, noting that such exercise would start in Lagos.

“The issue of payment of salary will be taken seriously by the current NUJ executive and from next month we are going to picket any organisation that owed up to two months salaries and this will start from Lagos. ”

Garba said that he had faced series of challenges since assumption of office in May 16, 2010, noting that till date no formal hand over note was given to him by his predecessor.

“I have been finding it difficult to operate because for more than one year there is no formal hand over by the former president.”

Earlier, the NUJ Chairman, Abia Council, Mr Hyacinth Okoli, said that the visit would remain indelible in the minds of journalists in Abia.

He said that the visit was the first time a serving NUJ president was paying an official visit to the state in the last four years.

He urged the national president to use his visit to Abia to canvass for improved funding for state media organisations, which he said were grossly under funded. (NAN)