New Delhi, March. 21 (PTI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today assured journalists and non-journalists employees of newspapers and news agencies that the Government would look into their demand for setting up of new Wage Boards.
Singh gave an assurance in this regard to a delegation of Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees Organisations, the umbrella body of apex media trade unions, which called on him to press for its demand for early constitution of the "much-delayed" Wage Boards.
The Prime Minister said he would study the issue, hold discussions with the Labour and Information and Broadcasting Ministers and look into the long-pending demand of over a lakh employees working in the sector, Confederation General Secretary M S Yadav, said.
During their 25-minute long meeting with Singh, the seven-member delegation, which was accompanied by CPI National Secretary D Raja, urged the Prime Minister to ensure that the Wage Boards be given a specific time frame to come out with its recommendations.
"We also urged the Prime Minister to set up a Committee to ensure that newspaper managements do not violate the labour law and the freedom of speech and expression is not infringed with by the ever-increasing contractual appointments in the industry", Yadav said.
Other members of the delegation were Confederation Secretary S N Sinha, IJU President Suresh Akhouri, AINEF Vice-President Santosh Kumar, UNI Workers Union General Secretary M L Joshi, Amitabha Roychowdhury of Federation of PTI Employees' Unions and NUJ (I) President N K Trikha.
In a nine-page memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, the Confederation said wage revisions were taking place in several industries and the Central Government has granted "heavy doses of relief" to employees in the form of housing allowance and other benefits".
Newspaper employees, on the contrary, have received no revision in any manner after the last Wage Boards were implemented in 1998-2000, it said.
It reminded Singh that setting up of Wage Boards from time to time was a "statutory obligation" cast on the Central Government under Section 8 of the Working Journalists Act.
Refuting claims that Wage Boards put heavy burden on the industry, the Confederation leaders pointed out that after the Manisana Wage Boards, "the situation in the newspaper industry has radically changed for the better as a result of adoption of the policy of globalisation, world common market and liberalisation of economy. The newspaper industry has flourished due to and as a result of globalisation."
The memorandum also listed major newspapers and their increased profits since the last Wage Boards. It quoted from their annual reports to substantiate its claims.
The delegation expressed fears that the delay in setting up the Wage Boards even eight months after the Labour Minister made a declaration to do so was "because of the pressure on the Government from newspaper owners who have been pressing the Government against it".
The Confederation had on February 23 staged a march to Parliament in support of its demands.
