New Delhi, 26 April 2023. The Confederation of Newspapers and News Agency Employees Organisations has demanded the government to immediately set up a new wage board for the wage revision of media employees in view of the galloping inflation and increased cost of living in nearly one and half decades when the Majithia recommendations were notified. The meeting of the apex body of the six media organisations was held in Chandigarh on the 23rd and 24th of April. It was also decided to launch countrywide agitation for retaining and strengthening of Working Journalist Act by bringing the employees of other media persons into its ambit.
While addressing the meeting of the confederation the Chief Ministers of Punjab Bhagwant Singh Mann, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana, and the Himachal Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu supported all the demands of media employees. There was a broad consensus among all the media union leaders that pressure should be mounted on the central government for introducing the Media Protection Act and for amending the Information Technology Act so that the media persons may not have to face harassment by the mischievous elements. There was a strong feeling against the move of abrogating the Working Journalist Act by subsuming it with other labour codes.
The Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann addressed the meeting in his inimitable style and emphasised the importance of print media. He said that despite the tough competition posed by the electronic, web and social media the credibility that is enjoyed by print medium was head and shoulders above all. He appealed that the focus of journalists should be on raising important social and economic issues rather than pursuing petty matters.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu felt that there was an urgent need for bringing social security scheme for journalists to keep the fourth pillar of democracy objective and independent. He highlighted the steps taken by his government for the welfare of the people including journalists. Shri Sukhu assured the media persons that some budgetary provisions would be made by his government to provide economic assistance to the media employees. Himachal’s Social Security and Health Minister Col Dhani Ram Shandilya called for strong free and fair media to help and guide even the policymakers.
Addressing the concluding session of the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the increase in the monthly pension of retired journalists from Rupees 10 thousand to 11 thousand. He underlined the need for the development of language newspapers to help achieve the goals of democracy.
The meeting was hosted by the Tribune Employee’s Union. Its president Anil Kumar Gupta and Gen Secretary Ms.Ruchira M Khanna declared that their employees' union would be next to none in continuing the struggle of the media persons all over the country. The General Secretary of the Confederation MS Yadav declared that very soon for deciding the future course of action a meeting will be held in Delhi at the May end.
Among those who addressed the meeting were the IFWJ Vice President Hemant Tiwari, Secretary General Parmanand Pandey, UNI Workers Union President ML Joshi, Indian Journalist Union President Shrinivas Reddy, General Secretary Balwinder Jammu, National Union of Journalists President Ras Bihari and General Secretary Pradeep Tiwari. Indian Express Workers Union President CS Naidu, Delhi Union of Working Journalist President AS Negi told the meeting that more than 30 thousand newspaper employees have been thrown out of jobs for demanding their dues of Majithia Award. Not only that hundreds of employees have either died or committed suicides due to poverty and hunger. it was attended by nearly 300 representatives of newspapers and news agency employees from all over India including those of Bangalore Newspaper Employee’s Union and the All-India Newspaper Employees Federation. Vivek Tyagi and Rajesh Niranjan attended from Delhi. IFWJ Secretary Siddharth Kalhans and UPWJU President TB Singh came from Lucknow to Chandigarh specially to participate in the meeting. All leaders pledged to continue their struggle till the demands of the media employees were fulfilled.
Parmanand Pandey
Secretary General: IFWJ
No comments:
Post a Comment