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 countrys newspapers saying it is recognition of the key role decent working conditions play in building quality media.
The Prime Ministers 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 Indias media industry, he said.
The countrys 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 countrys wage board system. The IFJ had supported the confederations 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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