Greater than 25% of journalists don’t obtain a month-to-month wage, 42% earn under the nationwide minimal wage, simply 8% obtain medical advantages and nearly half of all journalists should not registered with the Nationwide Social Safety Insurance coverage Belief, denying them rights and advantages they’re entitled to by regulation, in accordance with the just lately launched Media Reform Coordinating Group report, Welfare of Journalists in Sierra Leone.
The IFJ and SLAJ accuse media employers in Sierra Leone of making a welfare disaster for the nation’s journalists.
The President of the SLAJ Alhaji Manika Kamara stated: “The findings of this report verify what many journalists in Sierra Leone have been experiencing for years: a deepening welfare disaster that threatens not solely livelihoods but additionally the independence and credibility of our media. When journalists are underpaid, unpaid, or denied fundamental authorized protections similar to social safety and medical advantages, media freedom itself is weakened. SLAJ is not going to deal with this as a routine grievance; it’s a structural problem that requires pressing enforcement of labour legal guidelines, accountable media possession, and stronger collective motion inside the sector. We welcome the assist of the IFJ and reaffirm our dedication to working with the SLRU and different companions to make sure that journalists are handled with dignity, equity, and in accordance with the regulation.”
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IFJ Common Secretary Anthony Bellanger stated: “The illegal and abusive therapy of journalists in Siera Leone should cease. Too many media employers are allowed to get away with breaking the regulation and leaving journalists in poverty. The authorities should take stronger motion to implement the regulation and guarantee journalists are pretty compensated and obtain at least their authorized entitlements. Failure to take action dangers undermining media freedom and professionalism”.
The IFJ has pledged to work with SLAJ and the SLRU to advertise collective bargaining within the media sector, increase consciousness amongst journalists of their rights and to think about strategic litigation the place there’s a lack of enforcement of present rights.
“We’ll assist the transfer by journalists in Sierra Leone to enhance the rights of journalists, mobilizing assist for campaigns, coaching and advocacy to deal with the welfare disaster engulfing the nation’s media sector,” Bellanger added.
The IFJ and SLAJ are a part of the Empowerment for Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability (MEDIA) challenge, led by the BBC Media Motion. The IFJ will conduct a mission to Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, in June. The mission will embrace conferences with authorities representatives and key officers to advocate for the enforcement of labour legal guidelines affecting media professionals. It can additionally goal to assist the SLAJ in advancing its calls for for the correct implementation of labour protections for journalists in Sierra Leone
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