The Delhi Union of Journalists in a memorandum to the Minister for Labour Shri Gopal Rai placed before him the picture of non-implementation or partial implementation of the Majithia Wage Board and connected matters. They further pointed out the fact of hundreds of journalists being employed on contract on a temporary basis on jobs of a “permanent and perennial nature”.
It was pointed out that in the last 20 years large number of journalists on contract have suffered a severe attack on their right to organize and bargain collectively. Thousands of working journalists employed on contract basis are being denied their benefits under the Majithia Wage Board by the unscrupulous newspaper managements. The managements are claiming that the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board are not applicable to the journalists employed on contract basis. In view of this, immediate steps needs to be taken by the Labour Department, Govt of Delhi to protect the interests of the Journalists working on contract basis so that their interests are protected and they are saved from the all pervasive exploitation.
The minister promised that he would look into all aspects of the problem and entrust it to the connected department. The President and General Secretary of the DUJ, Sujata Madhok and S K Pande who met the Labour minister today had earlier met the labour department officials with concrete examples of non-implementation of the Majithia wage board. They have further pointed out the miserable plight of TV employees with no Act governing them. It is the DUJ’s demand that the Working Journalists Act be amended with strict provisions for those not implementing the Award and even demanded that non-implementation of awards be made a congisable offence. Similar demands have been raised before the Central government.
(S K Pande)
General Secretary
Press Release
