The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) successfully negotiated the agreement with Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan.
The measures announced include:
- The provincial information ministry will pay a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 if a journalist dies from a coronavirus while the Punjab Government will pay Rs.1 million relief funds to the family of any journalist who dies due to the deadly disease
- The provincial government will pay Rs100,000 to any journalist who contracts COVID-19.
- Masks and protective equipment will be provided to the union to distribute to journalists and newspaper sellers.
- Media houses will receive tax exemptions of up to Rs18 billion and have their pending dues of about RS 2.5 billion cleared so that they can meet financial losses due to the ongoing coronavirus situation and pay outstanding salaries.
PFUJ president GM Jamali and Secretary General Rana Muhammad Azeem thanked the Punjab government for the measures and hoped other provincial governments and Federal government would follow suit and announce a media support package soon.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "We congratulate the PFUJ on securing important protections for journalists and their families. Now other regional authorities must follow Punjab's lead and the Federal government must act to support frontline journalists".