IFJ Welcomes Wage Board Boost for Indian Journalism: Decent Working Conditions �Key to Quality in Media�

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the announcement that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the establishment of a Wage Board for working journalists and other media workers working for the country�s newspapers saying it is recognition of the �key role decent working conditions play in building quality media.�

The Prime Minister�s approval on Monday followed the approval of the boards by the Union Cabinet in December.

�This announcement is good news for unions who have been demanding decent working conditions, and it is welcome recognition of the key role decent work plays in building media quality,� said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

White said the wage boards should act quickly.

�Establishing fair and equitable standards for labour conditions for journalists and non-editorial newspaper staff will give a vital boost to India�s media industry,� he said.

The country�s three major journalists groups � the Indian Journalists� Union, the National Union of Journalists, India and the All India Newspaper Employees Federation � formed a confederation to demand that the government made good on promises to re-launch the country�s wage board system. The IFJ had supported the confederation�s efforts to institute the wage board system.

�For years the government has been saying it would tackle a growing media employment crisis,� White said, �as media companies forced employees to accept vulnerable labour conditions with �take it or leave it� contracts and in the process they are denying international labour standards and sending standards of journalism into freefall.�

For more information contact the IFJ at 32 2 235 2200
The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries worldwide

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