AINEF for amendment to Working Journalists' Act

Guwahati, Dec 26: The All India Newspaper Employees' Federation (AINEF), Central Working Committee (CWC), today demanded amendment of the Working Journalists' Act to ensure protection and guarantee of employment and security of employees and strict punishment to those newspaper managements, which failed to implement the wage board recommendations.

Newspaper representatives from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Bhopal, Kerala and Pune participated in the CWC meet here yesterday.

In a statement issued here, the Federation, welcomed the Union Government's decision to constitute separate wage boards for journalists and non-journalist employees of the newspaper industry.

The working committee, in a resolution, expressed grave concern over the rising prices of essential commodities and ''anti-people economic policies of the Union Government.'' The federation further demanded representation of the AINEF in the wage boards being constituted for the journalists and non-journalists.

It, however, expressed grave concern over the practice of contract employment for the working journalists in the newspaper industry.

About 85 per cent or more of the working journalists working against permanent positions had been driven out of employment and many others had been newly appointed on contract basis.

Thus the new breed of the working journalists have been made to work against low salaries and are denied benefits of the labour laws and left to the mercy of their employers, AINEF CWC said.

It has also expressed its concern over the bids of the newspaper houses managements to extend the contract employment to the non-journalists on a large scale. The AINEF CWC observed that such employment was contrary to the public policy of permanent employment, security of employment on the terms and conditions provided in the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act.

This sort of contract system of employment denies the right to employment and security of employment and was thus contrary to the provisions of the Articles of Directive Principles of the Constitution of India.

Though Right to Employment is not guaranteed under the Constitution of India, Article 14 has expressed that it is high time to consider it as a fundamental right for the citizens of the country, said the AINEF CWC.

UNI