Kuala Lumpur: The National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJ) has urged the government to formulate special programmes to alleviate the burden faced by current and former media personnel during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
NUJ president, Farah Marshita Abdul Patah, said it was estimated that more than 3,000 employees in the media industry have been laid off in stages since 2019 due to the slowdown in the industry as well as the impact brought about by the pandemic.
“There are also former media personnel who were laid off without any compensation due to the sudden closure of operations. Most of them are in a tough predicament when it comes to finding new jobs due to the uncertain economic situation.
“For former employees who received compensation from employers, most of them had ventured into businesses, but the prolonged pandemic has had a big impact on their newly established businesses,” she said.
Farah Marshita said the uncertainty in the industry has also prevented former media practitioners from returning to the industry, and, at the same time, it has also killed-off the spirit of those still working in the industry.
“The state of emergency that is expected to end in August will continue to place pressure on the industry’s recovery.
“As such, NUJ proposes that the government establish up-skilling and re-skilling programmes such as digital entrepreneurship development, business and financial management training, as well as various other programmes that would value-add to media personnel in the job market and business ventures,” she said.
She added that the welfare and safety of media personnel is also being sidelined during the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is no special allocation for the purchase of safety equipment, health check-ups or medical allowances given to media personnel in making daily coverage, especially at high-risk locations.”
Meanwhile, she said, NUJ has proposed the establishment of a disaster fund to assist media personnel who were involved in accidents while on duty so that emergency assistance could be promptly provided.
“In this challenging situation, assistance and support from the government is greatly appreciated for not only NUJ members, but the media industry as a whole.
“NUJ is ready to hold discussions with the ministry to ensure the welfare of media personnel is maintained.”
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