This situation is unacceptable and it has become a major imperative to develop a roadmap for enhanced welfare in the Nigerian media through the collective bargaining mechanism. This is the objective that this stakeholders' roundtable seeks to achieve. Journalists deserve new salary package By Muhammed Garba, NUJ National President In order to ensure the independence, objectivity, impartiality and transparency of journalists, it is ideal to place them on salaries, allowances and general conditions of service at least not less than 20% above those paid to staff in Federal and State Government parastatals and private companies, as the case may be. Such salaries and emoluments should be negotiated collectively and as necessary between the Nigeria Union of journalists- NUJ, Newspaper proprietors Association of Nigeria- NPAN, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria - BON and other relevant stakeholders. Concerted efforts by the Union towards providing an acceptable condition of service for journalists in the country came to fore in 2006 when the NUJ, in collaboration with the African Regional Office of the International Federation of journalists organized a workshop in Abuja, October 29-31, 2006 During this event, workshop participants drawn from amongst various stakeholders, considered the acceptable standards of work conditions adopted by the West African journalist Association(WAJA) Media Employers Organisation, the ECOWAS Commission and the Francophone Intergovernmental Agency(AIF) at a meeting held in Dakar, from November 8­10, 2004. The Union thereafter set up a committee headed by one of its members, who was NLC Assistant General Secretary Mr. Owei Lakemfa, to study the document and provide a draft framework for minimum standard conditions of service in Nigeria journalist. This committee produced a very comprehensive and good document. The document which was adopted by the National Executive Council of the Union in Makurdi, from September 7-9, 2007 provided a baseline for agreeable conditions that would enhance journalism practice in Nigeria taking into account the interest of all stakeholders.