QUETTA: The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) at the concluding day of its three-day meeting here on Thursday adopted a number of resolutions on various issues being faced by journalists and media workers, including non-implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award, continued retrenchment of workers and journalists, cut in their salaries and closure of several regional newspapers and suspension of transmissions of different TV channels.

Through a resolution, the FEC criticised the owners of media houses for criminally ignoring implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award, which was agreed upon by all stakeholders with consensus in December 2019 with the government announcing its implementation, but it seemed that the owners of media houses were avoiding implementation of the award.

The FEC urged the government to fulfil its commitment announced by it on several occasions for implementation of the Wage Board Award and use the law of the land and its influence over the owners of media houses to achieve this objective.

“We want an urgent implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award without delay as delaying tactics will further widen the gulf between owners and the journalist community,” the resolution said.

Through another resolution, the PFUJ condemned retrenchments and forced layoffs in the media industry by owners and the government which had led to joblessness of around 7,000 journalists and media workers across the country.

Another resolution expressed serious concern over collapse of regional newspapers and closure of different news and entertainment channels due to financial crunch and use of Pemra’s black laws for arms-twisting with a hidden agenda of denying the people the right to information, free media and freedom of speech guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.

“It is an irony that instead of financially and administratively empowering federating units of the country, the provincial quota of advertisements has been taken over by the federal government leading to collapse of regional newspapers and, therefore, in order to save the regional newspaper industry, the regional quota of advertisements should be immediately restored,” the resolution said.

The FEC meeting condemned suspension of transmissions of Channel 24 and Channel 5 by using black laws of Pemra and arms-twisting through concocted and fabricated allegations against news and entertainment channels in the country.

“There is an immediate need to halt such practices and restore transmissions of all news and entertainment channels to improve media-state relations,” the meeting said.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2020