AHRC appeals judiciary to ensure early verdict on seventh wage award petition
Islamabad, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has moved an urgent appeal in a letter to Chief Justice of Sindh High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan to ensure early decision on the writ petitions filed by media owners' organisations before the Sindh High Court whereby restraint orders have been got, deriving media workers of fringe benefits and wages as admissible under the 7th Wage Award. The AHRC urged President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Federal Minister for Human Rights Raza Rabbani to announce interim relief for working journalists and newspaper employees forthwith till the Sindh high court decides about the petitions filed by the APNS against the seventh wage award. The AHRC in its letter said: "I am depressed to know that the higher judiciary for its restoration during the military government of Musharraf journalists have whole-heartedly supported the movement, delaying the decision and in other words providing advantage to media owners not to implement the seventh wage award and deprive the newspapers employees and working journalists.
The courts which are supposed to implement the rule of law are now coming under pressure from the powerful institution, then how people of the country will expect justice from the judiciary." The AHRC observed that "In Sindh high court many benches were constituted one after the other which took another five years to hearing the case but none of them had announced the verdict. Later on Supreme Court was pursued whihc in August 2009 directed to decide the issue within 90 days but the direction was not complied by the Sindh high court. The process of changing the benches in the cases of newspapers employees was continued. On September 2010, the high court reserved the judgment but till this day court has not announced judgment after almost seven years which again gave an opportunity to owners of the media houses to deprive their workers of the benefits of the 7th Wage Board Award.
The Newspapers employees and working journalists apprehend that if delay in the judgement continues, then there are chances that again the bench, who has to announce the judgment, may be changed and court would take more time to decide." "This has been happening despite passage of resolutions by the four provincial assemblies, the National Assembly and the Senate, asking the owners to implement the award," the AHRC added. The AHRC also sought constitution of a committee to audit the accounts of media houses so that they should also contribute to national development. The government should also link the advertisements with payment of wages to journalist according to award. The AHRC has also written letters separately to the UN special rapporteur on freedom of press.
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