ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: In its 18th meeting being last of the 7th Wage Board Award, the representatives of the employers and employees presented their comments on the reports of the economic experts.

The meeting was chaired by chairman 7th Wage Board Justice Raja Afrasayab Khan here on Thursday.

It discussed the economic experts reports and the comments of the representatives of the employers and employees in detail. While the economic experts had based their reports for increase in wages of the newspapers employees on the affect of the inflation during the five years from 1995 to 2000 per capital income at factor costs during the period, representatives of employers opposed it and gave their own proposals.

Chairman of the Board after hearing the arguments from both sides observed that he will keep views of both the sides before him while declaring the 7th Wage Award for newspapers employees by October 8.

Earlier, federal minister for labour and manpower Omar Asghar Khan held separate meetings with the representatives of the employers and employees which were also attended by the Board Chairman Justice Raja Afrasayab Khan and Secretary Labour Farhat Hussain.

The Wage Board meeting was attended among two others by former APNS secretary general Arshad Zubairi, former APNS president Syed Fasih Iqbal as representatives of the newspaper employers and APNEC chairman Abdul Hameed Chhapra and secretary general Pervaiz Shaukat, PFUJ president I.H. Rashed and Senior Assistant secretary general Abdullah Jan and Balochistan union of Journalists president Maajid Fauz.