Wage board recommends 3 times pay hike for Indian journalists

By Subir Ghosh.
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New Delhi - The Wage Boards for working journalists and non-journalists and other newspaper employees in India have recommended 2.5 to 3 times hike in basic pay and fixing the retirement age at 65.
To be implemented retrospectively from January 8, 2008, the revised basic pay has been computed after merging the existing basic pay, the dearness allowance and the 30 per cent interim relief that had been already granted, an official statement issued by the government said.
The panels have also suggested establishment of a permanent tribunal consisting of employees and employers for grievance redressal, Justice G R Majithia, who headed the panels, said after presenting the reports to Labour and Employment Secretary Prabhat Chaturvedi.
The revised basic pay has been computed after merging the existing basic pay, the dearness allowance (DA) and the 30 per cent interim relief already granted besides 35 per cent variable pay. Taking into account the concept of grade pay introduced in the Sixth Pay Commission, the two boards also introduced a "variable pay" for all employees working in newspaper establishments and news agencies. The boards proposed a variable pay of 35 per cent. This will be implemented from July 1, 2010.
The basic pay at the entry level could be anywhere around Rs 9,000 while the basic pay drawn at the senior level could be around Rs. 25,000 in a category 1 media house.
The recommendations would be examined by the Labour Ministry before they are tabled before the Union Cabinet for approval.
The boards also recommended that the DA be paid biannually with effect from July 1 and January 1 every year and the rate of neutralisation for determining the DA would be 100 per cent of the basic pay for all groups of employees. The boards also recommended revision of house rent, transport, and night shift allowances.
They recommended that the house rent allowance be paid at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent of the basic pay to employees posted in areas defined as area X, Y and Z respectively. The transport allowance at the rate of 20 per cent, 10 per cent and five per cent shall be paid by newspaper establishments to its employees posted in respective areas defined as X, Y and Z respectively. The hardship allowance has been recommended at Rs 1000 for employees working in hilly areas.
The employees working in the newspaper establishment of classes I and II and classes III and IV shall be paid medical allowance at the rate of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 per month per employee respectively. But no medical allowance shall be paid to employees who are covered by the Employees State Insurance Corporation.
News agencies with a revenue of over Rs 60 crore have been put in the same place as top rung newspapers following the Boards' reclassification of news papers and news agencies. Press Trust of India (PTI), therefore, has been put in the top spot with United News of India (UNI) in the second slot.
The Wage Boards were constituted three years ago for the purpose of fixing or revising rates of wages in respect of working journalists and non-journalists and other newspaper employees.
Official website: The Wage Boards

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Journalists demand notifictaion of wage board recommendations

New Delhi, Mar 6, (PTI):

Concerned over ''undue delay'' in notifying the recommendations of Justice Majithia Wage Board for working journalists, a union of journalists today demanded their immediate notification by the Centre, threatening to launch an agitation if it was not done.

The National Executive Committee of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU), which met here today, said it "strongly feels" that the central government is delaying the notification.

"The working journalists have been eagerly waiting for the wage revision which has long been due and any further delay will force them to take to agitational path to achieve their legitimate right to just wages," a statement issued by the Union said.

It also expressed concern over the Supreme Court judgement holding that any working journalist, whose services were terminated for misconduct of any type, was not entitled to gratuity under Section 5 of the Working Journalists Act.

"It demanded that the central government immediately amend the Act to plug the loophole and protect the interests of working journalists in the country," the statement said.

Scribes Hold Protest March for Wage Board

DEMANDING early notification of the Justice Majithia Wage Board recommendations, hundreds of newspaper employees, including journalist, held a rally outside the Shram Shakti Bhawan, the Labour Ministry headquarters in New Delhi, on March 16.



Those who organised the protest march included the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ), Press Unity Centre (PUC), Association of Accredited News Cameramen (AANC), and the unions in various plants and news agencies.



Assembling at the Press Club of India for the rally and the march, the unions and journalists from different states also demanded Wage Board arrears from January 2008, a permanent wage fixation machinery and an end to unfair labour practices.



Other demands included pension as the third retirement benefit, an end to the contract system and justice to the victims who were working in Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. A memorandum was presented to the Labour Ministry seeking early action on the demands, failing which it was decided to intensify the struggle.



Meanwhile, the PTI employees union, which participated in the rally, informed that an emergency meeting of the Confederation of Newspaper and News Agencies Employees Organisations had been convened on the next day to chalk out a further course of action.

How to calculate your salary

The following are the provisions in the notification regarding fixation of salary.

Fixation of initial wage in the revised scale.- The initial wage of an employee in the revised scale shall be fixed in the following manner -

(a) For the new entrant, the wages shall be fixed in the revised scale at the minimum of the scale.
(b) In the case of employees already working in the establishment, the wages shall be fixed in the revised scale at the stage next above the existing emolument.
(c) If the minimum of the revised scale is higher than the amount of the emoluments being presently drawn by the employee, the wages shall be fixed at the minimum of the revised scale.
(d) If the existing emoluments of the employee are higher than minimum of the revised scale, the wages shall be fixed at next higher stage in the revised scale.
(e) Every employee shall be given one increment in the revised scale for completion of every four years' service in the post held immediately before the date of the commencement of the Award.
(f) The service rendered by the concerned employee in any other post carrying a scale in that establishment, the minimum of which is lower by not more than 30% of the minimum of the scale in which the employees worked, shall also be taken into account.
(g) The total number of increments shall not be more than three.
(h) No employee shall get more than the maximum of the revised scale.
(i) The revised scales shall become applicable to all employees with effect from the date of operation of all respective classes. However, if an employee within three weeks from the date of publication of Government Notification under the section 12 of the Act enforcing these recommendations opts for retaining his existing pay scales and "existing emoluments", he shall be entitled to retain his existing scale and such emoluments.

Explanation:

(a) The existing emoluments of an employee shall mean his basic pay, variable dearness allowance at the All India Consumer Price Index Number 1813 (base 1960=100) and interim relief as on the 1st day of January 1998.
(b) The "additional emoluments" of an employee shall mean emoluments other than the "existing emoluments" described in clause (a) granted by newspaper establishments as a result of collective bargaining, agreement or award, as increase in basic wage, dearness allowance or interim relief.
(c) The "additional allowances" of an employee shall mean any monthly payments, by whatever name called, not related to a specific purpose nor agreed to be adjusted against any revision of pay or dearness allowance.


Formula for calculating Dearness Allowance


(Average AICPI for the Qr. in question - AICPI No. for 1998)

DA = ------------------------------------------------------------- X Rate of neutralisation X Basic Pay

AICPI No. for 1998


In other words, DA= (Current Average AICPI minus 1998 AICPI) multiplied by Rate of neutralisation and Basic Pay and Divided by 1998 AICPI.

Note:
AICPI No. for 1998 is the AICPI for the last quarter of 1997. (See chart)
CPI on the date of implementation (Jan. 1, 1998) was 1813 (CPI of last quarter of 1997).

Manisana Wage Board

Manisana Wage Board: Government notifies final recommendations approved by Cabinet.

The Union Government has notified the final recommendations of the R. K. Manisana Wage Boards for journalists and non journalists.

The Government accepted the recommendations with the following modifications.

1. Dearness Allowance shall be given on the basis of All India Consumer Price Index
(AICPI) as against the regional CPI recommended by the Wage Boards;

2.. The rates of neutralization dearness allowance have been enhanced as under:-

Basic pay Percentage of neutralisation
Recommendations of
the Wage Boards As Notified
Up to Rs. 5000 100 100
Rs..5001 to Rs. 7000 80 80
Rs. 7001 to Rs. 9500 60 70
Rs. 9501 to Rs. 12500 45 60
Above Rs. 12500 40 50

3. The rates of House Rent Allowance for classes VI to IX of newspaper establishments shall be fixed at the level as recommended by the Wage Boards or the one the employee is drawing, whichever is higher. (The Wage Boards had recommended fixed amount of rents for these classes);

4. Leave Travel Allowance shall be determined on. the actual basic pay instead of the minimum of the pay scale recommended by the Wage Boards;

5. The part-time correspondent/photographer shall not be paid less than 50% of basic pay applicable to regular full-time correspondent/photographer if he is working at district headquarters or above and one third of the wages if he is working below district level subject to the condition that he shall not work for more than two newspapers in the first case and not more that three newspapers in the second case. (The Wage Boards had recommended at least 40% of the wages for district headquarters and above and at least one third of the Wages for the others subject to the condition that no part time correspondent/photographer shall work for more than two newspaper establishments.)

6. The Scanner Operators shall be placed in Grade 3A along with Planners and Proof Readers in the working journalists category. The Wage Boards had placed them in non journalists category as factory staff;

7. The rates of increment shall be the same for journalists and non-journalists having comparable basic pay, as against lower increment rates for journalists recommended by the Wage Boards;

9. The. payment of arrears shall be made in 18 months in three equal instalments in blocks of six months each. The Wage Boards had recommended payment of arrears in 30 months in three equal instalments in blocks of 10 months each.

Wage Board for Working Journalists

Update: New Delhi, July 22, 2008: Justice K. Narayana Kurup submitted an interim report of the two wage boards-- recommending an interim relief of 30 per cent of the basic salary for newspaper employees with effect from January 8, 2008, to the Minister of State for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes on July 22.

This decision was arrived at through voting after a detailed discussion at a meeting held here last month. Trade unions of newspaper employees said that the proposed interim relief was inadequate in view of the increasing inflation rates and demanded that the recommendation should be revised.

New Delhi, July 22: Mr. Fernandez said that the Government would take a decision on interim relief within a week. The report was to be considered by the Union Cabinet.

(Justice Kurup has submitted his resignation to the Cabinet Secretary.)

New Delhi, October 8: The Union Cabinet approved notification of the interim enhancement of the wages at 30 per cent of basic wage for the working journalists and other newspaper employees with retrospective effect from January 2008.

New Delhi, October 24: Interim enhancement of the wages at 30 per cent of basic wage for the working journalists and other newspaper employees notified with effect from January 8, 2008.

New Delhi, February 28, 2009: Justice G.R. Majithia appointed as Chairman of Wage Boards vide notifications, S.O. 580(E) and S.O. 581 (E) dated 28th February 2009.

New Delhi, June 2010: Term of wage boards extended up to December 31, 2010.

New Delhi, December 31, 2010: Wage Boards submitted their recommendations. The Boards recommended a 35 per cent variable pay for for journalists and non-journalists working in four top categories of newspapers and 20 per cent for others with effect from July 1, 2010. They also proposed an increase in the retirement age by five years to 65 years. Besides, they suggested 100 per cent neutralisation of increase in the cost of living index in dearness allowance. The allowance is recommended to be revised twice a year as against current practice of varying rates of neutralisation for different categories of establishments and quarterly revision. The new basic pay is arrived at by merging the existing basic pay, dearness allowance and 30 per cent interim relief granted earlier.

BCCL submission to Wage Board

BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD.

Member Secretary,

National Wage Boards for Working Journalists &

Newspaper Employees, Employees Provident Fund Office Complex

New Delhi -110075.

Sir,

This has reference to the notice dated 16^th November, 2007, issued by you in the newspapers inviting representations from newspaper establishments, giving opinion on the fixing of wages for newspaper employees.

At the outset we would like to submit that Wage Boards are not required for fixing the wages or allowances of the newspaper employees, as wages are now market driving in view of the globalization and opening of media to foreign investment.  Formation of Wage Board is an OUTDATED CONCEPT THROUGH WHICH Government wants to control the working of Newspaper organizations and at the same time make attempt to keep journalists on its right side.  This is a legacy of the controls, licence quota, permit raj day.  Companies should have freedom to fix wages of its employees based on merit, performance and productivity.

In our opinion, there is no need to tinker with the existing wage structure as was recommended by the Manisana Singh Wage Board.  To take care of the inflation and increase in the cost of living variable dearness allowance, is being paid which is linked to the All India Consumer Price Index for industrial workers.  It will be prudent to merge the variable dearness allowance with the basic salaries and form suitable new pay scales.  Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL), New Delhi is currently paying wages as per the highest class i.e. IB  The average wage of Peons is presently Rs.14,500/- p.m. plus perquisites & benefits.  As it is, these wages are very high compared to the prevailing wages structure in other companies.

Now the new Wage Board has been constituted by Government & it has to revise the wages, its endeavour should be to fix wages scientifically considering the job content, job evaluations, workloads, productivity of labour and prevailing rate of wages in other organization.  Newspaper industry cannot be an island of high wages just because Journalist & Other newspaper employees have to be pleased.

Bachhawat Wage Board and Manisana  Wage Board, based their recommendations for the class of the wages to be paid to the Wage Board covered employees based on the turnover of the newspaper establishment.  Further each branch of a company was classified based on the turnover of that particular branch office.

The turnover of an organization should not determine the wages to be paid to its employees.  By this logic for doing the same job a person working in a larger organization should get higher wages vis-à-vis a small organization having less turn over.  Thus, Govt. of India, which has the highest revenues should the highest salary paying organization in the country.  In fact, employees working in large organization s may not have to work as much as compared to small organizations because large organizations have better and bigger automatic plants and also have well defined system and procedures.   Persons working in smaller organizations may have to work more and require multifarious skills and talents than those working in the large organizations, but still get paid less because the person is working in an organization which has less turn over.

Similarly, the criterion for determining the wages should not be the profitability of the organization, because profitability depends upon so many factors like market share, quality of goods produced, brand image, efficiency and effectiveness of distribution methods, quality of management and govt. rules and regulations.  It will be unfair for employees working in a loss making organization to get paid lower wages viz-a-vis  an organization which is making better profits.  In such a case, employees of perennially loss making organization like Air India, Indian Airlines etc. should get paid low salaries and employees of public sector organizations like BHEL and NTPC should get paid high salary as they are working in profit making companies.

The wages to be paid to the employees should be appropriately fixed, based on the job content of each job should be compared with the job content of other employees based on its complexities such as education, experience, skills and knowledge required.  The compensation or wages should be related to the capabilities required and complexities of the job that he or she is performing.  The complexities of the job have to be measured in terms of attributes and the qualities the person should possess to perform that particular job.  This will include:-

1.      Education level

2.      Professional qualifications

3.      Experience acquired

4.      Special  skills/job knowledge and competency

5.      Responsibility level

6.      Decision making/judgement

7.      Creativity

In order to arrive at proper measurement of job knowledge, skills and competencies of each job for which the Wage Board wants to fix wages, the job content has to be properly defined and for each job title the job description has to be arrived at.  For example, electricians in one organization may have different job description, duties and job responsibility than the electricians in another organization.   In large organization there may be junior electricians, senior electricians and number  of electrical engineers, whereas in a medium/small organization, electrician himself may be handling all aspects of the job including maintenance and repairs of major electrical equipment, and even attending to electrical system of printing machines.  Thus only the word electrician may be misnomer unless the job description provides the details of the job, which a person is required to perform.

First job description has to be made ready for all jobs, which are required to be performed in a newspaper organization, for which wages are required to be fixed.  Over a period of time as technologies have changed, many of the jobs and job titles have become obsolete and redundant.  Many old employees may be still having those old job titles but they have been retained and totally re-equipped to perform other new jobs to meet the technological changes.  Thus, their job title may not at all be in conformity with the jobs they are actually performing.  Some of the examples of the old title in the printing press area are : Negative Retoucher, VDT Operator, Cameraman, Impositor,  Line Operator, Black Room Asstt., Bromide Developer, Engraver, Flongman, Ludlo Operator, Mono Operator, Motor Mechanic, Layout man etc.  Similarly, in the office category there will be persons having designations like Franking machine operators, addressographer, teleprinter, telex operator, comptist etc. which are no longer relevant as these jobs have become redundant.

With the change in technology and innovations and technological developments, new kinds of jobs have emerged which are not part and parcel of the old designations as mentioned in the earlier wage board reports.

The job contents of the journalists have also undergone considerable change with the advent of internet, email, mobile telephony7 and digital page making.  The qualifications and expertise required for journalists now are different than what they were earlier.  Journalist have now access to lots of information on internet.   All background stories, data and information on any event are available to them on press of a button.  They have not even to bother for spellings and grammar as these are automatically corrected by the computer systems.  Page make u0p is also on the computer screens and for all the activities involved in their work, special computers and associated software have been developed.  Thus skill required for journalist is now different.  For these journalist jobs also, the Wage Board should prepare job descriptions for different categories of employees and fix wages based on job knowledge, skills, complexities, responsibilities, creativity and decision making required.

Some jobs have been wrongly categorized by past Wage Boards as journalists, because there are no job descriptions defining job content.  Earlier Wage Boards had categorized proof readers, reference assistants and library assistants as journalists.  The last Manisana Singh Wage Board categorized  scanner operators and planners as journalists, even though scanner operators and planners have nothing remotely to do with the activities that  journalists are required to perform.  This Wage Board is expected to receive many representations from workmen to categorize them as journalists because journalists are required to work for six hours vis-à-vis eight hours by others and also get better wages and allowances.

All over India employees are required to work for 48 hours a week under the Provisions of Factories Act; and under the Provisions of Shops and Establishment Act.  Due to some strange reasons under The Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and miscellaneous Provisions Act the working hours of journalists have been specified six hours per day or thirty six hours per week.  This means that journalists work 25% less than all other employees in the organization.  Either the working hours for journalists should be made at par with other employees or they should get wages 25% less than what they should normally have been allowed.

Once the job descriptions for each job, have been prepared by the Wage Board then based on the knowledge competence and skills, these jobs have to be compared and benchmarked against the similar or same jobs in the newspaper industry and in other industries in the country.

Once these comparisons have been done then only one can scientifically arrive at the worth of each job in the organization and how much compensation needs to be paid, based on the market valuation and contribution of the job to the overall functioning of the organization.  Wage Board should consider the concept of CTC  i.e. cost to the company while fixing the wages and allowances as is the practice world over.  Another important aspect to be considered while fixing the wages for Wage Board covered employees is that job security of these categories of employees is ensured through Industrial Disputes Act.  Also the amenities, working conditions and work environment provided by the company to these employees should also be a criteria while determining the wages.  The Wage Board should also incorporate performance based payment system whereby good performance is rewarded and bad performance is penalized.

Merely paying an employee by his designation, based on the turnover of the company or the profitability of the company, is totally unscientific and irrational.

It may be mentioned that some major Newspaper Establishments either do not have Wage Board covered employees at all or have managed to get rid of Wage Board covered  employees from their organizations.  Many other newspaper establishments implement Wage Board award only symbolically.  BCCL employs substantial number of Wage Board covered employees and implements Wage Board awards in toto.  It is expected that Wage Board will revise the wages in the logical and rational manner, so that the wage burden does not increase disproportionately.  Also to avoid any legal wrangling and disputes, the Wage Board must adopt scientific methods of job evaluation and wage fixation so that the newspaper organizations employing Wage Board covered employees accept recommendations and implement the award.  If the wages are increased indiscriminately and without any scientific basis, the managements of various newspaper establishments will not only challenge these recommendations legally but may also make attempt to avoid implementation and find ways and mean to reduce/eliminate the Wage Board category of employees from their organizations.

We assure you of our best cooperation.

Thanking you,

For & On Behalf of Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Sd-

(BALRAJ ARORA)

Dy. Director – Personnel &

Publisher – The Times of India & The Economic Times, New Delhi.

concern over delay in wage board notification

THE HINDU reports

The national executive committee of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has expressed serious concern over the undue delay in notifying the recommendations of the Justice Majithia Wage Board for working journalists.

The national executive that met here on March 5 and 6 strongly felt that the Centre was delaying the notification “succumbing to the pressure’’ by the managements of the media organisations. The working journalists have been eagerly waiting for the long due wage revision and any further delay will force them to take agitational path to achieve their legitimate right to just wages. The IJU demands that the government should notify recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board without any further delay.

The national executive also expressed deep concern over the judgement of the Supreme Court holding that any working journalist, whose services were terminated for misconduct of any type, was not entitled to gratuity under section 5 of the Working Journalists Act. It demanded that the Central government should immediately amend the Act to plug the loophole and protect the interests of the working journalists in the country.