Arrears of Media Workers to Come Under Legal Umbrella

A subcommittee of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Information has decided to conduct legislation for redressal of problems faced by the media workers especially arrears.

The panel said the licenses of channels having outstanding dues must not be renewed.

A meeting of the sub-committee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting was held under the chairmanship of Convener Naz Baloch in which the issue of non-payment and deductions of salaries and arrears of media workers in some institutions for several months was discussed.

PBA opposes

Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) Secretary-General said the federal and provincial governments owed media houses Rs 6 billion which have not been paid for many years.

He questioned how salaries could be paid when the volume of advertisements was reduced by 60% and burgeoned arrears.

He maintained that most of the media houses were paying salaries and the problem existed in only a few.

Masood suggested a reduction in satellite fees and declaring media as an industry.

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Parliamentary Reporters Association (PMA) Secretary-General MB Soomro laid out short, medium, and long-term plans for resolution of problems faced by journalists.

He said that legislation efforts for electronic media workers were underway for the last 18 years but never materialized.

He added that there was no forum where journalists could take their pleas and it would continue until a law was promulgated.

PAR charter of demand

Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) presented a Charter of Demand before the committee and suggested the formation of a parliamentary committee comprising members from NA and Senate.

The authority suggested linking advertisements with payment of salaries to the employees.

It said that salaries should be paid through banks and all media outlets should submit salary clearance reports with the Ministry of Information every three months.

A helpline should be formed to collect data of all media workers.

PAR also called for the vaccination of media workers along with the provision of group insurance and health card facilities along with Shuhda package for the journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The panel members stressed the need for legislation for the resolution of issues of the media workers.

They said that anchorpersons receiving hefty salaries were not a burden on the channels but the field staff was kept deprived of meager pays.

Information Secretary Shahera Shahid said that the media owners submitted an affidavit but still did not pay salaries to the workers despite they were granted Rs 1 billion.

Therefore, the governments have not cleared their arrears.

However, PBA opposed the proposed legislation and termed it a hanging sword on channel owners. The committee chairperson Naz Baloch said that several media workers were laid off from their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

She added that electronic media had hired employees on the payroll of other companies and many of them did not go under audit.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Saleem Baig informed the committee that the media outlets were bound to conduct an audit within three months but the financial statements were not submitted to PEMRA.

The case was under adjudication in the court and it is pending due to the coronavirus situation.

PBA secretary-general said that the government owed them Rs 6 billion. Even Pakistan Television (PTV) laid-off employees and the private channels could bear losses to an extent too.

He asserted up to 70% of revenue was liable to the deficit.

The committee member Muhammad Waseem said it was required to carry out such legislation which gave protection to media workers and owners.

Kanwal Shauzeb expressed that enough discussion has been done on the problems of the media workers but it was time to take practical steps.

The information secretary apprised that the matter of Rs 6 billion arrears was pending in the court while the government had cleared Rs 1 billion.

PBA official maintained that they would clear outstanding dues only when they received the complete payment.

The owners of media channels said the Punjab government owed them Rs 500 million. At this, the government officials said they were ready to pay it.

The convener committee Naz Baloch said Geo television channel borrowed loans to pay salaries to employees.

She added that as many as 1,066 media workers have been sacked from different media channels.

The committee summoned recommendations from the media owners until April 20.