Journalists to hold nationwide dharna on June 28 over wage boards

Workers of newspapers and news agencies will hold dharnas across the country on June 28 to protest against the "delay" in notification of wage boards for them.

The decision to hold day-long dharnas on June 28 was taken at an emergency meeting of Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees' Organisations (CNNAEO).

In the main dharna in Delhi, mediapersons will hold a sit-in at Jantar Mantar.

Similar dharnas will be organised in the state capitals on the same day, CNNAEO general secretary MS Yadav said.

Members of PTI Employees Union, AINEF, IJU, IFWJ, NUJI and UNI Workers Union participated in the meeting.

Yadav said leaders of all political parties and trade unions would be invited to the dharna.

The CNNAEO have leaders threatened to intensify their agitation by organising nation-wide strikes if the government did not act promptly in favour of journalists and non-journalists by notifying the report.

Yadav alleged that the government under "influence" of the INS (Indian Newspaper Society) is "sitting" on the wage boards recommendations, which was submitted timely to the government by its chairperson Justice (retd) GR Majithia on December 31, 2010.

The CNNAEO general secretary accused the INS of spreading "falsehood" against the wage boards to deny wage hike to workers and to "black out" news of the workers.

The INS's behaviour was "unethical", he said.