ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court will take up on Monday a constitutional petition of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), challenging the Seventh Wage Award.

The bench will consist of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Sardar Raza Khan.

The APNS has approached the court under its original jurisdiction, seeking a direction that the government has no powers to appoint a wage board for determining the salaries of their employees. The petition was filed in July 2002.

The APNS has challenged the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act 1973 in its entirety but it has also asked the apex court to limit the act's applicability to working journalists.