Thirty-seven of the 54 sections of the Media Employees (Services Conditions) Bill, 2022 are not journalist-friendly, according to the Editors’ Council.

The bill was placed in Parliament on March 28, at a time when the whole newspaper industry is going through a crisis period due to the pandemic, the organization said in a statement on Tuesday.

The media industry is being brought under the control of the bureaucracy on the pretext of protecting the interests of the media workers, it said.

The formation of media courts will create legal complications for newspapers and media workers, creating obstacles in the way of independent journalism, according to the council.

The law would pit newspaper owners against employees, the Editors’ Council added.

The council said it was necessary to have discussions with all the parties concerned before finalizing such bills.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/south-asia/2022/03/25/sri-lanka-papers-run-out-of-newsprint-as-crisis-bites