The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, on Thursday, asked the federal government and private establishments to improve the salaries and working conditions of its members across the nation.

It noted that the harsh conditions under which most journalists work was responsible for the low productivity in the profession.

The NUJ President, Waheed Odusile, who made the plea during a side media chat at the 11th All Nigerian Editors Conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said journalists as critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project deserve a better deal than they were currently getting.

‎“What we want from the government is a kind of enhancing the salary of journalists; let it start first with our members and colleagues in government media because the bulk of members are government employees.We do not like the way our members are being treated like other civil servants in the country; you and I know that journalists work round the clock; let the salary and other benefits go in line with the nature of the job we do,” Odusile remarked.

He added that journalists were nation builders, whose lives also needed to be built up by those who employ them

“Let the benefits reflect the work we are doing; if other professions are recognized, journalism should also be recognized in this country. Once we achieve better pay for journalist in the government media, we will move on to negotiate with the private media owners because we are doing a lot for national development,” he noted.

He said the union would continue to negotiate with the government and private news outfits to see ways in which the sordid state of the media profession could be improved upon.