June 19, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 18: The newspaper employees and journalists’ bodies have rejected any move to amend the Newspaper Employees Conditions for Services Act (Necosa) and called for the implementation of the Seventh Wage Award.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mazhar Abbas, secretary-general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, said any move by the government to amend Necosa would be resisted by newspaper workers and journalists.

Earlier in the day, Information Minister Sherry Rehman, during a meeting with a PFUJ delegation and the All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation, revealed that newspaper owners had sought an amendment to the act and they wanted to make the implementation of the wage award conditional on the acceptance of their demand.

The minister said the government would convene next month a tripartite conference, to which all stakeholders would be invited.

The delegation of the two apex bodies representing newspaper employees comprised, among others, PFUJ chief Syed Huma Ali, Apnec chairman Shafiuddin Ashraf, PFUJ secretary-general Mazhar Abbas and Apnec secretary-general Mohammad Imran.

The delegation apprised Ms Rehman and Labour Minister Khurshid Shah about the concern among newspaper employees over delay in the implementation of wage award.The two ministers assured the delegation that the government was committed to implementing the award.

The labour minister also assured the delegation that he would raise the issue at a meetings of the federal cabinet and would advocate an early implementation.

ATTACK ON CHANNEL: The PFUJ and Apnec have condemned the attack on a Seraiki-language TV channel in Multan on Tuesday in which the staffers were badly beaten up by a gang of armed men.

The two bodies urged the Punjab government to take action against the culprits.