INS concern over Wage Board proposals

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 7. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has expressed serious concern over the notified decision of the Government regarding increase in salaries and allowance of newspapers employees, both journalist and non-journalists, on the basis of the recommendations of the Wage Boards. It has sought freedom for the industry to determine the wages of employees bilaterally as was the case with other industries in private sector.

Though it appreciated the need to pay fair wages to the employees and sympathised with their aspirations for achieving better standards of living, the INS in its reaction to the Government's decision said that the level of salaries must bear a nexus with the capacity of the industry to pay.

The massive increases in salaries and allowance of employees resultant from the implementation of the decision of the Government on the Wage Boards would deal a crippling blow to the industry particularly when it was passing through testing time and had been badly hit by all round cost escalations besides the electronic media growing at a phenomenal pace resulting in diversion of revenues to it from the print media.

A statement issued by the INS said this sharp increase in the salary burden on the newspaper industry would be against the long term interests of the industry which is expected to play an important role in our democratic polity in preserving freedom of expression and promoting literacy and dissemination of information.

It pointed out that, by determining the share of wages as 55 per cent of gross profit, the Wage Boards had ignored the submissions of the INS it should be done on the basis of the capacity of the industry to pay. In doing so the Wage Boards lost sight of the fact that wages should be determined on the basis of prevailing cost of living, wages being paid in other sectors and that the balance 45 of gross profit would be wholly inadequate to provide a reasonable return on capital and meet essential expenditure for modernisation.

Referring to the Wage Boards overlooking the stand of the employers on certain issues and the dissents recorded by them on some recommendations, the INS expressed surprise and dismay over the Government, instead of toning down the recommendations actually going a step beyond in further improving the benefits for the employees including the new formula for neutralisation of DA and its linkage to the All India Price Index and arrears being paid in 18 months instead of 30 months.

While minor modifications to set right anomalies or minor deficiencies is understandable, the statement said that INS is unable to comprehend any reasonable justification for the substantial improvements in the recommendations by the Central Government.

There is no rationale in singling out newspaper industry for determination of wages and allowance of employees through statutory Wage Boards. No other industry is subject to this methodology.

In a liberalised economy, such matters are best left to be settled bilaterally by the employers and employees, it concluded seeking the ``same dispensation for determination of wage as is the case with other industries in the different sectors of the economy. ''

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