Media org rally on Oct 16 to oppose UNI sale

New Delhi, Oct 13: The Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees Organisations today opposed the sale of majority shares of the United News of India (UNI) to a media house.

The Confedration vowed to work shoulder to shoulder with the UNI employees who have launched an agitation to stall the sale in order to maintain the neutral and impartial character of the 45-year-old news agency.

At its Executive meeting here, the Confederation decided to launch an all India struggle to oppose the deal and contact all the political parties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The Confederation consists of the All India Newspaper Employees' Federation, National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Indian Journalists' Union (IJU), Federation of PTI Employees' Unions and UNI Workers Union.

After the two-hour meeting, Confederation General Secretary M S Yadav said the Confederation would organise a rally here on October 16 to the office of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry at Shastri Bhawan to seek immediate government intervention to stall the deal.

The Confederation said it would also raise the issue of sale of UNI shares at the Press Council of India meeting next week.

The Confederation also decided to intensify the agitation for the immediate setting up of a new Wage Board for journalists and non-journalists.

UNI

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