Q&A

of MediTrade Unions (FMETU)

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

Going beyond our profession, FMETU urged and helped relevant officers to intervene and fulfill the urgent needs of the people. We were also concerned about our family members at times since we could easily bring the virus home and expose the family to the virus. It is sad, that sometimes we get calls from our media institutes asking for news reports, but they were never bothered to ask how we survive or how we are with the reporting. Financially it was a hard time as many journalists did not get paid. Our institutes were closed due to lockdown. Some of us had to lend money to feed our children. Until now many media workers are not paid for the work done during lockdown and some are still in the process of receiving it.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

Covid-19 has turned the world upside down. Everything has been impacted. How we live and interact with each other, how we work and communicate, how we move around and travel. Throughout this crisis, just as the health and security sections, media also had a huge role to play. However, since media institutions were not structurally organized or supported as much as those other sectors, journalists also became a vulnerable group during the pandemic.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

The FMETU took the initiative to organize four, three-hour zoom workshop sessions with participants from all over the country.[1] Out of the 60 invited, 45 journalists participated and discussed how the epidemic affected them and their profession. We heard their experiences, challenges and learnings and discussed how we could use this experience in the future.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

We wrote a three language (Sinhala, Tamil and Sinhala) “Handbook for Professional Journalists” and printed 1000 copies. We circulated it island wide among professional journalists and trade unionists, with the ministers for media and labor, the commissioner general of labor and all media Institutions heads. 

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

The nationwide lockdown during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic primarily had an impact on the newspaper industry.  Newspapers stopped their print editions since the distribution came to an abrupt halt. Journalists and other staff were unable to report to work, with their movements restricted. Newspapers were published as e-papers with a limited number of staff members engaged to work during the lockdown period. Even when the lockdown restrictions were removed, the number of staff permitted to work in an office was limited.

While the Covid 19-pandemic did not have a major effect on the digital divisions of the mainstream media outlets, it did have a strong repercussion on independent websites. This was because their primary revenue sources were small and based on advertisements received from private entrepreneurs. As a result, some who were unable to pay their office rentals had to vacate their offices. Some continued to work independently from their homes in whatever way possible without any remuneration.  One of the key adverse impacts of was that journalists had to work from home for reduced wages. Journalists who were not permanent and freelance journalists lost their source of income. The economic hardship was a common experience not limited to journalists but faced by all workers in the country.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

With the complete abolition of several fundamental features of democracy that had been enshrined in the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the political environment in the country during the last year was one that had an extremely detrimental effect on the lives of Sri Lanka’s people. These salient democratic features were ripped away with the introduction of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, approved in October 2020. The government abolished the Independent Commissions and the Constitutional Council, which was the prime independent body with the power to appoint representatives to those commissions. Instead, the power to appoint all senior officials from the country’s judiciary onwards was placed under the President. At present, a non-independent State mechanism has been established. There is no guarantee for the rights of people under a non-independent State institution culture. These implicitly affect the Right to Freedom of expression and the protection of journalists.

Opportunities available for freedom in reporting for journalists are also being curtailed. Currently, a circular has been issued prohibiting the right of journalists to cover District Development and Regional Development Council meetings. This ban violates the rights of journalists to cover the discussions at these meetings consisting of provincial political representatives and government officials, as well as the public’s right to know information. The former director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), who was in charge of investigations in connection with crimes committed against journalists including the killing of journalists in the recent past, has been arrested. In such a political context, these investigations will be swept under the carpet and it is difficult to hold on to the hope for justice.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

FMM is in agreement with the democratic features of the 19th Amendment. Now it has been abolished there is no space to talk about these matters. However, FMM is working on policy matters concerning the media sector. The Ministry of Mass Media and Information has requested the views and suggestions of the public to restructure and strengthen the Press Council. FMM submitted a letter stating that we will not submit any proposal and that the Press Council Law should be repealed immediately and detailed the adverse legal provisions and the basis for opposing it.

FMM agrees with “a regulatory” methodology encompassing all media that is developed through the engagement of the media community, protecting media diversity, independence, freedom and social responsibility. We also acknowledge the need for a media regulatory system to prevent discrimination of the public and slander due to unethical media practices and proposed an alternative bill. Such a proposal should come from within the media community. This proposal is submitted in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI). The work is being continued irrespective of whether the government will accept our proposals or not.

What efforts did your organization contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year?

The appointment of females to two of the top four positions in the FMM leadership team took place last year. The executive committee worked to ensure the appointment of women to leadership. This can be taken as an example for other media institutions. We also contributed to a Covenant drafted by another institution taking into account Sri Lanka’s Covenant on Gender and Media Charter.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

The general assembly of the FMM was conducted last year, and work commenced with a new leadership and new executive committee. A public discussion was held on the experience of using the Right to Information Act. Although it was a year spent in the midst of a Covid 19 pandemic, we held a workshop to prepare an action plan for the next three years. Young journalists, as well as women journalists, were identified with a survey conducted for digital journalists. Preparing a report on the media freedom landscape in Sri Lanka in 2020 was one of the key responsibilities of the year. The report is scheduled to be released on May 3, 2021, on World Press Freedom Day. A desk referred to as the ‘Media Freedom Rights Monitoring Unit’ was set up by FMM to monitor incidents and violations against the freedom of the media.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

FNJ’s major concern was on the professional safety and security of the working journalists. The shrinking revenue for media houses was also a concern. FNJ monitoring and surveys showed that about 4% of the journalists lost their job during the pandemic and another 6% were on unpaid leave. The salaries of 9% of the journalists were reduced, while 20% of journalists did not get salary regularly. Over 70% of the journalists suffered in different ways due to the pandemic.

As frontline workers, journalists were vulnerable to Corona infection. In this situation, FNJ conducted two rounds of Covid PCR tests covering over 200 frontline journalists in Kathmandu. FNJ provincial and district chapters also did similar testing of journalists in their areas. Over 20,000 face masks, gloves, sanitizers, soaps, PPEs and other safety materials were distributed during the pandemic.

The pandemic situation also drew the attention to the sustainability of media houses and support to journalists in such situations. There is a provision in the Working Journalist Act to make provisions for journalists’ welfare in media houses by allocating 10% of the advertisement revenue in the welfare fund. However, it was not implemented. FNJ filed a writ at the Supreme Court and the court directed that such fund be created at all the media houses and directed the government to report on the progress every two months.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

Last year was difficult time for democratic process in Nepal. The government decided to dissolve the parliament suddenly in December 2020, which was later reinstated by order of the court. However, the political turmoil is continuing, and sessions of parliament have not been going smoothly. There are many pending bills regarding media and expression in the parliament. The future of those bills is not clear.

Last year the National Assembly (upper house of federal parliament) passed the Nepal Media Council Bill and sent it to the House of Representatives (lower house of federal parliament) for further discussion. FNJ is opposing some of the provisions of that Bill. While some of it has been amended, there still many provisions that need amendment. The Information Technology Bill could not move ahead in the House of Representatives, while the government registered Public Service Broadcasting Bill at the National Assembly during the pandemic, without any consultation with stakeholders. The National Mass Communication Bill has also been drafted by the government, but it could not be registered at the parliament due to the opposition of all the media stakeholders.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

Among the bills registered at the federal parliament that focus on media and journalism are the Nepal Media Council Bill, Information Technology Bill and the Public Service Broadcasting Bill. There are provisions in those Bills that target and curtail media freedom. FNJ is focusing its advocacy on amendment of those Bills.

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

Immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic started, FNJ developed a Covid-19 reporting guideline for journalists and disseminated it to its members. FNJ monitored the situation of working journalists in 51 media houses in Kathmandu and in 14 districts during April-May 2020. It also conducted a detailed survey of 2,008 journalists by telephone. FNJ discussed the issues with the government and other media stakeholders. As media was not recognized as an industry in the laws, it was not easy to make arrangement of a relief package to media organizations. But with the efforts of FNJ, the government declared soft loans for media houses up to 50 million NPR (USD 342,000). To address the situation of the media houses, which had suffered by the loss of revenue, FNJ advocated with the Government of Nepal and made provisions for soft loan to the media organizations.

What efforts did your organisation contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year?

In 2020, FNJ amended its constitution to make its central committee more inclusive in nature. It added or revised positions at its central committee to include more women. A women vice president and one more female member was added. FNJ also made changes to four other positions to ensure female participation. At the central council, the constitution provides for at least 50% women representation. FNJ developed ‘Gender Equality and Social Inclusion’ guidelines as well as journalists’ safety guidelines for media houses. Both the documents focus on inclusion and safety of women journalists in the workplace.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

FNJ held its 26^th congress on February 17, 2021, and declared elections for local, provincial and central committee on April 7. This time all the members of FNJ (over 13,000) voted directly to elect the central committee. Earlier there was a provision that the representatives at central councils vote for the central committee.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

The key concern of our union during the pandemic was the safety and security of journalists to report and to sensitise the government authorities on the need for journalists to disseminate the proper information on the Covid-19 situation.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year – provide examples of a shrinking or expansion in the civic space in the country over the past year – please provide examples.

The civic political situation was impacted to a great extent as the right to freedom of expression and movement was almost suspended. An environment of fear psychosis was created to limit democratic space. Journalism bodies and civil society organizations worked against retrenchment of journalists, salary cuts and police atrocities on journalists.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country (please be specific to legislation or proposals put forward)

Our union has demanded enactment of a safety and security law for journalists in the country. We have also demanded insurance coverage and a compensation regime for journalists who are covering the pandemic.

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

IJU protested against lay-offs, salary cuts and increasing working pressure on journalists and demanded job safety, mandatory insurance coverage etc.

What efforts did your organization contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year? Provide examples

Our union has undertaken a series of programs to improve gender equality in the field of journalism. We have protested against the trolling of woman journalists who are critical of the government policies, sexual harassment in newsrooms and demanded equal pay as well as facilities for women journalists.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

For the first time, IJU elected one woman journalist at the post of working president of the union. We also activated our gender council. Our union is encouraging young and online journalists in the fold of union and giving more emphasis on digital journalism so that the union can tap into the burgeoning field for online journalists.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, journalists operated freely in the Maldives as the government declared special measures including curfew passes for journalists and media professionals so that they were able to work. These measures helped media outlets cope during the lockdown, while covering important pandemic news and informing the public of what was happening. A key concern, after the lockdown, is that the government has restricted the right to freedom of assembly, using the pandemic as an excuse. This has also impacted the work of journalists covering protests, leading to confrontations between police and journalists. Covering an unprecedented global pandemic is new to all of us and a lot of journalists initially were unaware of the measures they had to take in order to ensure their safety.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year – provide examples of a shrinking or expansion in the civic space in the country over the past year?

While the civic space has expanded with the current government lifting previous restrictions, the space for dissent and protest has shrunk remarkably. The government has used the pandemic as an excuse to restrict freedom of assembly and therefore freedom of expression as well. At the moment, political or civil society organizations are not allowed to hold protests or gatherings and despite several attempts to do so, the police have used force to disperse peaceful protesters.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

Currently, the government is attempting to merge the two regulatory bodies (Maldives Media Council and Maldives Broadcasting Commission). MJA is pushing for a self-regulatory framework to govern the new body, which will be tasked with regulating all media in the country.

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

Despite the implications of the pandemic on events and workshops, MJA intervened and held sessions to address journalist safety while covering the pandemic. We were able to do it with support from UNICEF, WHO and the Health Protection Agency.

What efforts did your organisation contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year?

MJA is in the process of conducting the gender disparity in newsrooms study and is expected to be complete by the end of May. This will give MJA and other key stakeholders a better understanding of the situation for women journalists and provide key inputs on how to move forward and design interventions.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

MJA was revived in September 2020. At the moment it is focusing on developing a better understanding of the journalism industry in the country. It has undertaken three studies (impunity for crimes study, gender disparity in newsrooms study and a Covid-19 impact on journalists study). MJA is also working on amending its statutes. The bulk of the work has already been completed. Right now, we are waiting for the Covid-19 situation to improve and for the end of Ramadan to hold discussions with MJA members on the proposed changes. MJA is also working on some limited training sessions for journalists which will cover basic journalism, climate reporting and fact-checking.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

After the declaration of nationwide lockdown from April 24, we suggested our regional heads to communicate with executive committee members and fellow members to stay safe and adopt the guidelines issued by the government.  We requested media houses and outlets to provide facilities to work from home provide essential protective materials and equipment.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

The new Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been consolidating national power under his jurisdiction. The government has tried to bring the Nepalese private sector under the jurisdiction of Commission of Investigation Abuse of Authority (CIAA). The government is trying to bring Human Right Commission an independent constitutional body under the domain of the Attorney General.  The introduction of a new cyber law and a draft of a new draconian Nepal Media Council Law clearly shows that the government is trying to limit the freedom of press. In December 2020, the government issued an ordinance to amend the act of the constitutional council. This step was taken amidst the crisis within the ruling party. As there were slim chances of approving the proposed candidates, the Prime minister dissolved the House of Representative. The constitutional bench of Supreme Court later revived the dissolved house by saying the act of dissolution of House of Representation was against of letter and spirit of constitution, i.e., unconstitutional. But the Supreme Court seems indecisive on the writ filed against the constitutional council ordinance, nomination under amended ordinance and their legitimacy. Thus, the Prime Minister was able to establish his blind supporters in the constitutional bodies though some of them were involved in corruption scandals. These organized attempts clearly show that incumbent government is determined to curtail civic as well as right of press. Hence, Nepal must be kept in the radar of potential threat to freedom of press.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

As the government is trying to squeeze the freedom of press guaranteed by the constitution made by constituent assembly, it is our utmost need to save it. Hence, the NUJ felt the urgent to stop the legislative and political initiatives taken by the government to shrink the rights of press. Consulting with other professional organizations e.g. Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Nepal Press Union (NPU), Nepal Press Sangathan, we started a joint campaign under the leadership of FNJ against the draconian Media Council Law.

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

Our members cooperated on three fronts (a) preventive, by providing appropriate and adequate information, (b) facilitating and getting insurance funds, in case of Covid-19 diagnosis or death and (c) in case of job cuts, we requested media owners and their managements to pay all dues and not to expel journalists from their jobs.

What efforts did your organisation contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year?

So far as matter of gender equality is concerned, there is vast scope to maintaining and improving gender quality in the media and journalism fraternity with the strong base of our constitution and existing laws, but we were unfortunately not able to do anything due to the financial crisis generated by Covid-19 and consequently job cuts in media industries.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

A constitution amendment committee was formed and is working on this front. A planning and organization division was reconstituted as was a separate women’s wing. NUJN has identified many reform steps to be done on the organizational front.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

Globally the pandemic has made life difficult for humanity. The last year has proved to be very difficult for the PFUJ too. Hundreds of members got infected, while large numbers of media personnel were shown the door by numerous media houses during this period.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year? 

PFUJ rejects the bills recently passed by the government of Pakistan in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee that impose fines and incarcerations for those speaking out about certain institutions.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

PFUJ has been endeavouring to ensure that the rule of law prevails all over the country. The Constitution of Pakistan does not allow any declared or undeclared restrictions on freedom of expression. Therefore, no censorship is acceptable by PFUJ and it will keep on struggling for the freedom of speech.

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

PFUJ provided financial assistance to members suffering from Covid-19, as well as those who lost their jobs.  Under the guidance of PFUJ, 1,100 media workers were provided health insurance cards all over the Province of Sindh at a cost of Rs. 11 million (USD 59,000). PFUJ reckons that, despite containing the menace of the pandemic, the overall working conditions of media workers and journalists will not ameliorate, and they will be haunted by the spectre of unemployment.

What efforts did your organisation contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year?

PFUJ has been endeavouring to make sure that women journalists get their due rights. Hence PFUJ has ensured that its UJs (region journalist unions) also urge women journalists to participate in the elections. In KUJ’s 17-member executive council there are six women journalists.  Similarly, PFUJ also encouraged its women members to stand up and be counted during the polls.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021?

As soon as the Covid-19 pandemic started spreading all over the country, SLWJA made a special request to the government and all media institutions to supply journalists protective equipment kits, especially to provincial correspondents. There is a government loan scheme in the country especially for journalists, to purchase required equipment for relating to their career. This is an interest free loan scheme and most of the Sri Lankan journalists have obtained this loan from government banks. During the Covid- 19 pandemic and lock down, the total income of journalists dropped by almost 50% while a considerable number of freelance journalists totally lost their income. Therefore, SLWJA requested from the Government to grant them an acceptable solution in repaying the loans. Upon receipt of complaints by journalists, SLWJA informed the government to advise media institutions to release money owing to freelance and provincial journalists.

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

There were several incidents in the past year that were a concern. Derana TV journalist Indunil Wijenayake was attacked by sand-miners in the Kumbukkan Oya river in Moneragala district while reporting on illegal sand mining in the area in October 2020. Journalists Shanmugam Thavaseelan and Kanapathipillai Kumanan, correspondents for the Tamil Guardian, were attacked by timber smugglers while they were working on a story on illegal deforestation and timber smuggling in the Murippu forest area in Mullaitive district. It is reported that illegal sand miners and timber smugglers are connected to the politicians of the current ruling party.

Regarding our missing, assassinated, tortured and abducted journalists, the current government has taken some officers who were investigating the said incidents into custody on false allegations. Now nothing is happening about these cases and civil society groups who are seeking justice for the affected journalists, face severe problems with the current government. Further to this, most of the top positions of government and semi-government institutions are held by retired defence personnel. Therefore, civil society is living in fear that very soon there will be a military administration in the country.

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

SLWJA is forcing the government to abolish the existing Press Council and enter into a self-regulatory process as the current Press Council is a very repressive one.

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021?

SLWJA’s Annual General Meeting, which was scheduled to be held in 2020, was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, there have been no changes in our union up to now.

Please summarize your union’s key concerns for the media in your country during the Covid19 pandemic and lockdown, from May 2020 to April 2021? 

Nepali media suffered a lot during the pandemic and lockdown. The major concern of NPU was job security after media organizations started laying off staff. Those working in big media or small or those running small media ventures like FM radio, local online news portals, newspapers or magazines all suffered huge losses after they failed to get advertisements. Many media organisations either in Kathmandu or outside the city were forced to lay off staff. Journalists were deprived from regular salary, had pay cuts, forced unpaid leave or dismissal from their job and some endured unnecessary transfers a means to coerce them into resigning.  Out of 13,000 working journalists, around four per cent lost jobs and an additional six per cent, were forced to take unpaid leave, according to a nationwide survey. 

Health concerns were also an issue. Despite repeated requests, our fellow friends worked the frontline during the pandemic. Over 600 tested positive and we lost seven journalists during this one year. Though there is no measurement of stress testing, a huge number of journalists are complaining about the mental stress during the pandemic. 

With the outbreak of the pandemic and the imposition of lockdowns, the media is facing a lot of challenges and changes. Working from home has changed the working style and behavior and there is a boom in online news portals. Many journalists have started switching from other mediums to online. The media landscape is changing fast. Journalists are also facing the issue of correcting falsehoods in social media. So now challenges are there on how to cope with this new kind of transformation and the changes in the media landscape. We do not yet know what kind of impact it will have as we are just now witnessing the second wave of Covid. We are cautiously looking how much it will impact the media, its businesses and the journalists. 

How was civic democratic space impacted by the political climate in your country in the past year?

The issuance of some media-related Bills by the government of Nepal led us to think about the curtailing of the democratic and civic space in Nepal. In this time, the government did not allow civil society members to protest around the country’s main administrative building, Singhadurbar, and around the Prime Minister’s residence. Civil society members were arrested while protesting and faced huge repression while protesting around valid causes.  

At least one dozen people and journalists were arrested for violating the media law or freedom of expression or cyber related law. This all shows democratic space is diminishing in Nepal due to restrictions imposed by the government. One is the Information Technology Management Bill, which gives sweeping powers to authorities to criminalise social media interactions. Rights advocates say it curtails freedom of speech online and increases surveillance of personal data. The broad definition of “social network” in the bill includes all information and communication technology-based platforms where people and organisations interact or share content. This would include everything from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to messaging services like Viber. Even the more secure platforms like WhatsApp could fall under the purview of the laws enacted through this bill. The government has prescribed a fine up to Rs1.5 million (USD 59,000) and/or five years imprisonment for individuals who post online contents that sexually harass, bully or defame others. Recently, one journalist was arrested by police for publishing ‘fake news’. Some Bills are under discussion while some have ratified from Parliament. 

What are some of the key legislative changes or reforms that your union is promoting or campaigning for in your country?

 The present government in Nepal has proposed or tabled some regressive media laws in the country, so the NPU has voiced its concerns. Provincial and federal governments are coming up with separate media laws that are also meant to curtail the media space. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has prepared a draft of the directive to regulate the use and registration of social media in the country. We are deeply concerned about some of the contents of the proposed Bills. We met political party leaders, civil society members, submitted our query and concern at the Ministry of Information and Communication, Federation of Nepali Journalist and drew our attention with the stakeholders. All of our branches submitted memorandum to the government against the regressive provisions proposed in these Bills. We lobbied and campaigned with other media organisations. 

How did your union respond to Covid-19’s impact on media workers?

In the initial days, everyone was confused about the outbreak, the nature of the pandemic and how to respond to it. But gradually we started knowing better and we started a campaign about how to remain safe from the virus. We started distributing masks and sanitizer to the journalists urging them to take maximum precautions. Then we came to know that media persons started losing jobs. We lobbied at FNJ and media houses against these steps. We urged our branches to report what is happening in the fields and outside Capital, Kathmandu. We held rounds of virtual talks with our friends and took stock of the situation. We took up the matter with media owners, FNJ, Ministry of Information and Communication and tried to seek solidarity and unity from media organisations or unions in favour of journalists impacted by Covid or lockdown. The impact was multi-dimensional.

What efforts did your organisation contribute to improving gender equality within the union and in the media and journalism fraternity as a whole in the past year? Provide examples

We lobbied for law to ensure maximum participation of women in the media. We urged for ‘women friendly’ media house. We urged and lobbied for a suitable working environment for women journalists in the country. Several NPU branches are currently headed by women. NPU has good numbers of women journalists working in different capacities like office bearers and members. We have maintained 33% representation of woman in our organisation as directed by the constitution. 

Can you please highlight key progress and changes to your union in the past year from May 2020 to April 2021? 

NPU was supposed to hold its general convention much earlier, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we couldn’t hold it on time. We need to make some changes in our charter but to do this because we weren’t able to hold our general convention. Though we could not hold frequent meetings in person, we regularly held meetings and conferences online. The pandemic hit us hard in achieving our goal of working actively in favour of the journalists. But our efforts are going on to make our journalism more professional, gender friendly and trusted one. Over 70 percent of our members either general or office bearers are below the age of 40. Government has defined individuals below 40 as youth. This ratio will continue and we will uphold this spirit.