KARACHI, Oct 13: A joint meeting of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Karachi Committee of the All-Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation (Apnec) has thanked President General Pervez Musharraf, Federal Labour Minister Omar Asghar Khan, Chairman of the Seventh Wage Board Justice Afrasiab Khan and Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mahmood on the announcement of the wage award for journalists and newspapers workers.

A statement issued here on Saturday also appealed to the newspaper owners to immediately implement the wage award.

The KUJ-Apnec Karachi Committee meeting held at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday was presided over by Qamar Rizvi.

It was pointed out at the meeting that there had already been a delay in the process of the wage award and in the meantime there had been a significant increase in the prices of items of daily use.

Because of this the journalists and press workers had been facing financial difficulties.

The joint meeting also appealed to the newspaper owners to ensure that the dues were disbursed by Dec 31, 2001.

The participants requested the Apnec’s National Executive Committee and the Federal Executive Committee of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists to convene a joint meeting to chalk out a strategy for the implementation of the wage award. — APP