Press Council of India issues notice to The Hindu for threatening to lay off journalists

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The Press Council of India, which regulates the press in India, has taken suo-moto cognizance of the threat to terminate journalists from The Hindu’s Mumbai bureau.

In a notice issued on 22 June 2020, the council notes that journalists have been asked to resign and that the employee contracts excluded the application of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 rendering employees with no remedies in case of being fired.

The council has sought comments from the editor of The Hindu and the regional manager of The Hindu Mumbai.

On 19 June, employees of the Hindu across different bureaus, editions and verticals were asked to tender their resignations or risk being terminated.

On 21 June, employees at The Hindu’s Mumbai bureau sought written communication from the company on their employment status.

News organisations in India avoid written communication when terminating employees. In the absence of any written communication from the company and after obtaining resignation letters from employees, companies claim they did not lay off employees. The tactic has been employed by The Times of India, The Telegraph, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and others recently, while laying off journalists.

In fact, despite overwhelming evidence of forced resignations and layoffs across newsrooms in India, the Indian Newspaper Society and the News Broadcasters Association have argued in the Supreme Court that news published in the media pertaining to lay offs and salary cuts are false.

The notice issued by the Press Council of India is reproduced below