President and general secretary of a faction of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), Altaf Mahmood and Kuddus Afrad, in a joint statement congratulated the government for approving the eighth payscale for the government employees and demanded that the ninth wage board be awarded for journalists.

They said considering the enhanced cost of living the government had approved the payscale which would benefit millions of people who worked for the government.

They appealed to the government to announce the ninth wage board for journalists on the same grounds. Besides, the new payscale will further increase the disparity between the government employees and the nongovernment ones, they observed. They also urged the government to ensure that the wage boards were properly implemented by the employers.