960404

Apnec, PFUJ

urge PM to help

implement Wage

Board Award

KARACHI: All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (APNEC) and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Thursday appealed to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to intervene and direct relevant federal ministries including Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Information to direct their efforts towards enforcement of Sixth Wage Board Award for employees of newspaper industry announced on March 14, 1996, in letter and spirit.

In a joint statement chairman Apnec and President PFUJ Shafiuddin Ashraf and Abdul Hameed Chhapra and secretaries general APNEC and PFUJ Pervaiz Shaukat and Nasir Malick expressed concern over recent stand taken by the organisations of newspaper proprietors and managements in connection with award given by a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Mr. Justice Zia Mahmood Mirza.

They contended that in the deliberations of Sixth Wage Board which was constituted in October 1994, representatives of employers not only fully participated but also agreed with majority of decisions, (including linkage of the implementation of award with government advertisements) unanimously taken by the members of the Board for progress of the industry and welfare of its workers.

Apnec and PFUJ office-bearers expressed surprise over sudden change in attitude of newspaper proprietors and managements who are now trying to wriggle out of their commitment and responsibilities by not paying agreed remuneration to their employees.

They commended decision of Federal Cabinet to issue government advertisements and newsprint quota only to those newspapers which implement wage awards in their organisations.

The unions of employees of the newspapers industry said that genuine newspapers should also welcome government decision since it will save public funds which are wasted in obliging dummy newspapers and as a result of which the share of genuine newspapers in government ads will increase.

They demanded of Information Ministry to institute fresh scrutiny to ascertain actual circulations of different newspapers and on the basis of findings new ABC certificates should be issued.

They said, it is ironical that those elements of the newspaper industry who colluded with successive military regimes have now started talking of freedom of the press and democracy as a camouflage to hide their attempts to deprive their productive force of its legitimate dues.-PPI