APUWJ rallies in Vijayawada, demands safety law and Working Journalists Act restoration

Journalists’ union demands special law on safety, restoration of Working Journalists Act

The Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) organised a motorcycle rally in Vijayawada on Friday (October 2, 2026), responding to the Indian Journalists Union’s (IJU) call to observe the day as ‘Demands Day’.

The rally brought renewed focus to the IJU’s demand for a special law to ensure the safety and security of working journalists.

The union also urged the government to restore the Working Journalists Act.

Rally in Vijayawada

During the programme, participants paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at New Bridge Centre and raised slogans in support of their demands.

IJU secretary-general D. Somasundar called for the appointment of a Media Commission to study the state of the media in the country.

He also sought a special law covering the safety of journalists and media organisations, the restoration of the Working Journalists Act, and the constitution of a Wage Board for revising journalists’ salaries.

The demands therefore covered both the security of journalists and issues related to their employment and welfare.

Housing and welfare demands

APUWJ president I.V. Subbarao said it was unfortunate that the coalition government had failed to fulfil assurances given to journalists during the elections.

He said the government had completed two-and-a-half years in office, but had made no progress on its promise to provide house sites and housing for journalists.

Subbarao also demanded the immediate restoration of the journalists’ accident insurance scheme.

He sought a tripartite monitoring mechanism to address problems in implementing the Working Journalists Health Scheme.

For senior journalists in Andhra Pradesh, he demanded a pension scheme.

Subbarao pointed out that 15 States were already providing pensions to retired journalists.

Memorandum submitted to MLA

Later, a delegation met Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and submitted a memorandum seeking action on the issues raised by the journalists’ union.

The memorandum followed the rally’s demands for action on journalist safety, labour protections, insurance, health scheme implementation, housing and pensions.

Source: The Hindu