JFA urges political parties to manifest their gestures

GUWAHATI, March 11: As the nation prepares for the next general election, Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) has urged all political parties to show their sincerity towards the implementation of various welfare schemes to media persons engaged in both print and electronic media. The JFA also insisted on enrolling a special protection laws for journalists on duty in the election manifestos of all political parties.

Expressing grave concern over helpless working condition of media persons, particularly the private television journalists of northeast India, the JFA has urged both the Indian Union labour ministry and province governments of the alienated region to look into the matter. The forum argued that nearly 80% working journalists of the region are still performing their duties with pitiable salaries (read monthly financial package), unlimited working hours and without any facilities recommended by the country’s labour laws.

The JFA in a statement issued by its president Rupam Barua pointed out that the reporters and camera persons, engaged with the satellite news channels of northeast India, have to work in a vulnerable atmosphere with low wages, more than 8 hours working period in a day, without weekly off-day, no leaves in need and with no facility for life and health insurance coverage.

The region has more than 100 morning dailies in different languages. Whenever the demand for higher financial packages for the privately-owned television channel employees is put forward, the owners argue that they are running a loss-making business. Similar versions are also being aired by the newspaper owners time to time that they are not earning money from the media business.

“Except few, it’s a common practice for all the media barons to divert funds from the collected amount of money from the advertisers to other non-media enterprises owned by them. Thus the owners continue siphoning away the essential resource of the media groups for their selfish interest only to showcase the media business as an unprofitable endeavour,” asserted Hiten Mahanta, president of AAMEF.

Welcoming the recent Supreme Court (of India) verdict upholding the constitutionality of the Majithia Wage Board for journalists and non-journalists, the AAMEF advocated for full implementation of the recommendations of the statutory wage board in every print media house in northeast India.

Meanwhile, the JFA raises demands for a social media audit in the region where the readers/viewers can find a transparent picture of the financial dealings involved with their favourite news papers and news channels. This was stated in a press release.

(Source)The Sentinel — The Largest Media group of North-East India — focused on news publishing. Combined circulation of the group is over 120,000 newspapers per day, making it the largest newspaper group in the region. The Sentinel is the only English daily in the Northeast India with five editions published simultaneously from Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Shillong, Silchar and Itanagar. For all local, news from Assam, national and international news please visit http://www.sentinelassam.com/