Journalist and non-journalist employees of the Newspaper industry in Maharashtra today resolved to go in public from the May Day this year to ensure proper and speedy implementation of the Justice Majithia Wage Boards Awards, as mandated by the Supreme Court of India. In an interaction , hosted by the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) at its office hall in Mumbai, the participants of various organisations and institutions of mediapersons, including Marathi Patrakar Parishad, Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Mumbai Press Club, UNI Employees Federation, Maharashtra Media Employees’ Union decided to hold a preparatory meeting on 9th April in Mumbai to finalise the call for the May Day action in public.
On the suggestion of the Mumbai Press Club functionary Mrityunjoy Bose , the BUJ General Secretary MJ Pandey was mandated to prepare a short note on the Justice Majithia Wage Boards Awards applicable to regular employees and those on contract basis as well and how it is to be decoded best. The participants resolved to publish this note in English, Marathi, Hindi and other languages as well.
At the outset, Senior Journalist and BUJ activist Indra Kumar Jain briefed the meeting about a series of interactions with the Maharashtra Government Labour Minister and the State Labour Commissioner on the ways and means to speedily implement the Wage Boards Awards in Maharashtra. He said the Government had been requested to notify Competent Authorities under the Working Journalists Act.
On a suggestion of the Marathi Patrkar Parishad leader S M Deshmukh to hold a seminar on the issue , Working President of the UNI Employees Federation CPJha proposed an action programme of the journalists and non-journalists employees all over the state on May Day that coincided with the Maharashtra Day. He also suggested the raising of a demand for setting up a fresh Wage Board as the last Wage Board had been set up in 2007.
RTI activist Shashikant Singh briefed the meeting about the contradictory information obtained by him about the status of the implementation/non-implementation of the Wage Board Awards in Maharashtra. The President of the Uttar Pradesh Accredited Correspondents Association, Hemant Tewari, who participated in the interaction as an invitee said that the Chief Secretaries of all the states of India had been directed to report on the implementation of the Wage Board Awards in their respective state to the Supreme Court of India which was seized of 50-odd Contempt Petitions against newspapers employers.
