Azerbaijan is considering the issue of granting concessional loans to journalists, Press Council chairman Aflatun Amashov said.
“At the moment, providing of journalists with concessional loans is on the agenda. After the budget of the State support fund of media development under the Azerbaijani President is increased, it will be possible to give long-term interest-free loans to journalists,” Amashov said.

Touching upon journalists’ privileges specified in the Labour Code, Amashov said that journalists can not use the benefits indicated in the Code. This is explained by the fact that the contracts do not meet current requirements, or they do not exist.

“When going to vacation, a journalist can not take advantage of the benefits specified in the Labour Code,” he said.

With regard to free use of public transport, Amashov said that this problem is solved by the editors in foreign countries.

“It is impossible to reach it in Azerbaijan because of the weak economic situation of the media. We want to resolve these issues anyway. In this regard, the Press Council and the Fund are preparing joint proposals. The proposals reflected grants to journalists to improve their social status,” Amashov said.

/Trend/