Working Journalists are deprived of their minimum wages since 15 years due to the court delays

Dear President of Pakistan,

PAKISTAN: Working Journalists are deprived of their minimum wages since 15 years due to the court delays

Victims: The working journalists and employees of newspapers
Alleged perpetrators: All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS)
Date of incident: 1st July 2000
Place of incident: Pakistan

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding non implementation of seventh wage board award and non increase in the basic wages and fringe benefits since July 2000.

It is shocking for me that working journalists and newspapers employees are deprived of their basic rights in the form of no determination of the their minimum wages and other fringe benefits since year 2000 when the last wage board award was announced. It is very ironic that all the delays are done through the court process and provide unlimited benefits and opportunities to the owners of the media houses.

In addition to my concerns the darkest aspect is that salaries of the newspapers employees, including the journalists, which were fixed in July 1996 under the sixth wage board award, were never been revised or increased. Whereas during, this period (from 1996 to 1997), the salaries of employees of government, armed forces, security agencies and private sector were increased from 400 to 500 percent.

I am appalled that because of the delay in the implementation of the seventh wage board award since 2000 the working journalists and newspapers employees are also deprived of the eighth and ninth wage board awards which are to be announced after every five year according to the law. It has been well established that the media is the fourth pillar of the state and can be run without full time and professional journalists and newspapers workers.

This has been happening despite the passage of resolutions by the four provincial assemblies, the National Assembly and the Senate, asking the owners to implement the award. But media houses, who talk about the corruption, good governance, transparency and always criticizing the working of government and other departments do think that they are above the law and they are immune to laws of the land.

The irony is that, Supreme court took four years to reach the conclusion that the petition of APNS does not fall under the ambit of article 185 (3) of the constitution. The court also asked the petitioner to move "competent court of jurisdiction" if so desired on the same issue. It is to be mentioned here that in those days the judiciary was the partner with military government.

Taking advantage of this observation of the apex court the media owners challenged the validity of the 7thWage Board Award once again before the Islamabad High Court, which dismissed the same on the same grounds. However, once again the APNS and some of the owners moved yet another writ petition before the Singh High Court against the 7th Wage Board Award and succeeded in getting restraint order without any service or knowledge to the representatives of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and affected newspaper employees. This restraint order is still operative providing leverage to media owners to escape from legal obligations of making payment of the wages and other accrual benefits of the 7th Wage Board award to their employees.

It is very strange for me that the higher judiciary also feels pleased to rush to the rescue of the media owners.

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 who 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 the 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.

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 the media owners to not to implement the seventh wage board award and deprive the newspapers employees and working journalists. The courts which are suppose to implement the rule of law are now coming under pressure from the powerful institution then how the people of the country will expect justice from the judiciary.

I urge you to announce the interim relief to the working journalists and newspapers employees forth with till the Sindh high court decides about the petitions filed by the APNS against the seventh wage board award. I also urge you to make a committee to audit the accounts of the media houses so that they should also contribute in the national development. The government should also link the advertisements with payment of wages to journalist according to award.

I hope you will do your utmost efforts to help the journalists and newspapers employees for getting their basic rights in increase their salaries and fringe benefits.

Yours sincerely,
shamsul islam naz
Pakistan