RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE STATE COUNCIL MEETING OF THE ANDHRA PRADESH UNION OF WORKING JOURNALISTS HELD ON 3RD AND 4TH JANUARY 2009 AT ANDHRA UNIVERSITY ASSEMBLY HALL, VISAKHAPATNAM, ANDHRA PRADESH

The Sate Council of the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) meeting at Visakhapatnam on 3rd and 4th January 2009 expresses its grave concern over the  of non-functioning of the Wage Board for working journalists for the last seven months due to the resignation of its chairman. The Chairman of the Wage Board, Justice K Narayana Kurup resigned in June 2008 and since then the Board has been defunct resulting in delay of long over due wage revision for the working journalists in the country.  

The wages of the working journalists were last revised in 1998 and in the interregnum the wages of employees of Private, Public sector and Government Employees at the Centre and States were revised more than twice. Due to inflation and rising prices, the real wages of working journalists were eroded leading to lower living standard. The wage board recommended paltry 30% of wages as interim relief. Unfortunately, the Government of India ignored the pleadings of the working journalists organizations for substantial enhancement of the interim relief and notified the recommendation of the age board without any change.

The journalists are anguished at the procrastinating attitude of the Government of India towards their problems. There is a lot of unrest and anger among the working journalists community in the country over the undue delay in revision of their wages. If the Government of India does not take remedial steps immediately, the news paper industry will be threatened with agitations, which will not augur well for the democratic polity.

The State Council of Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) urges upon the Government of India to immediately appoint new chairman for the wage board and take urgent steps to revise the wages of the working journalists and other newspaper employees within next six months to avoid unrest among the working journalists and other newspaper employees.