ISLAMABAD: The first meeting of the Eighth Wage Board for newspaper employees was held here on Friday under the chairmanship of retired Justice Hasnat Ahmad Khan. The meeting noted that nothing had been done to solve newspaper employees’ financial problems since the last award was announced way back in 2001. Justice Hasnat said the board would try its best to come up with the award within 180 days.

The meeting called for naming an employees’ representative in place of Shafiuddin Ashraf, who died last month, preferably before the next meeting.

The board will now meet in Lahore on Jan 10. The meeting asked the quarters concerned to submit a record of all the previous awards. It called upon the board members who represent employees to submit a charter of their demands in terms of section 10 of NECOSA 1973.

They were also asked to give their suggestions about interim relief in writing at the next meeting. The members representing the employers were asked to attend the next meeting so that differences between the two sides are resolved.

The meeting was attended by Bakht Zada Yousafzai of Daily Aeen Peshawar, Shoaibuddin Syed of Nawa-i-Waqt, Nasir Chishti of Jang and Muhammad Ayaz Khan, Secretary to the Wage Board’s chairman.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2019