Despite skyrocketing inflation, one of the leading English dailies, Dawn newspaper failed to reverse its order for pay-cut for employees.
A Dawn reporter Imran Gabol called for a joint action of the journalists to mount pressure on the newspaper’s management for restoring their salaries. He asked Hamid Mir, Rauf Klasra, Wusatullah Khan, Mubashir Zaidi and Zarrar Khuhro for raising voice for their salaries.
He wrote on Twitter, “Will our journalists friends raise voice for media workers who are facing 40 per cent pay cuts in Dawn newspaper since February 2019. Will dawn administration reverse this cut and pay back hundreds of workers?”
Will our journalists friends raise voice for media workers who are facing 40 per cent pay cuts in Dawn newspaper since February 2019. Will dawn administration reverse this cut and pay back hundreds of workers @HamidMirPAK @KlasraRauf @WusatUllahKhan @Xadeejournalist @ZarrarKhuhro
— Imran Gabol (@gabolizm) May 28, 2022
In another tweet, Gabol said, “Check the sky rocketing inflation but Dawn administration is not reversing 40% pay cut and not giving yearly increment. I asked dawn workers union president to apply for BISP [Benazir Income Support Program] as it become impossible to face this inflation.”
Check the sky rocketing inflation but Dawn administration is not reversing 40% pay cut and not giving yearly increment. I asked dawn workers union president to apply for BISP as it become impossible to face this inflation. @WusatUllahKhan @HamidMirPAK @KlasraRauf @Xadeejournalist
— Imran Gabol (@gabolizm) May 28, 2022
The News International reporter Khalid Khattak said in a Twitter message, “Hamid Mir is feeling pain of Dawn employees and retweeting their tweets. Hope he will retweet tweets of his colleagues at The News (Jang Group) waiting for a pay raise for the last 12 years now.”
To this, Imran Gabol replied that all labourers must join hands now to get their rights from the capitalists.
ایک کا دکھ سب کا دکھ۔ دنیا بھر کے محنت کشو ایک ہو جاؤ۔ سرمایہ داروں سے اپنا حق واپس لینے کی جدوجہد کرو https://t.co/ErlbPdeIac
— Imran Gabol (@gabolizm) May 28, 2022
News360 had earlier reported in February that Dawn journalists and media workers demanded then Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice against the management for unending pay-cut despite collecting ‘handsome profit’ in the fiscal year 2020-21.
The Dawn newspaper employees association had appealed to then PM Imran Khan via an open letter to draw his ‘attention to the plight of journalists and media workers in the country’s most prestigious newspaper, founded by the Father of the Nation [Muhammad Ali Jinnah] him.’
They wrote, “First, the Dawn management cut employees’ salaries by up to 35 per cent in February 2019 on the pretext of “anticipated losses”. Our appeals to the management to reverse the drastic pay-cut have fallen on deaf ears, despite the company’s handsome profit in the fiscal year 2020-21.”
It added, “Secondly, a truncated 8th Wage Board Award, in August 2021, was “implemented” in a lopsided manner – after a gap of 19 years. It, ironically, further contracted the employees’ salary instead of raising it by 145 per cent, as required under the WBA.”
The journalists and media workers of Dawn newspaper had requested the then premier to ask the English daily’s management via a phone call to reverse the unlawful pay-cut, pay arrears and increase the salaries of the employees. The workers said that they hoped that their management will also listen to the premier’s advice just like ARY News and Serene Air.