In a democratic dispensation media has a pivotal role in advancing and protecting democratic norms, freedom of expression which is a bulwark for other liberties and also strengthening the edifice of the state. It is because of this perceived role of the media that it is regarded as fourth pillar of the state. Media has also become an industry in the modern era like other industries employing thousands of journalists and the support staff. It goes without saying that the development and health of any industry is inextricably linked to the working conditions, salaries and perks of its employees. But it is regrettable to note that like in the other industries the employees of media have invariably remained underpaid and made to work under very challenging conditions by the owners of the media houses. This trend necessitated the government to intervene and announce minimum wages for the industrial workers through annual budgets and the wage board awards for the journalists.
The first wage board award for journalists was constituted in 1960 and awarded on December 31, 1960. It was also decided that after every five years minimum wage for the journalists would be decided. According to this decision by now 14 Wage Awards would have been announced but so far only eight awards have been given owing to inordinate delays in their implementation by the owners of the media houses who invariably resisted the government initiatives. It can be judged by the fact that the seventh wage award was announced in 2001 and its implementation remained suspended for ten years due to resistance by the newspaper owners who maintained that it would put an unaffordable burden on the economy of media. They even filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2002 and the final verdict in this regard was announced on 20 October 2011 recognizing the right of the journalists to fair wages.
I suppose it is pertinent to mention that while the owners of the big media houses have been seeking exemptions from tax on the incomes that they earned from government advertisements and built their fortunes they always showed reluctance to give fair deals to their employees. I am making this statement with full responsibility as I am privy to these things due to the fact that I once was Director Advertisement Press Information Department. In addition to this they also enjoyed other benefits for supporting the policies of the regimes.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wanted to promote well-being of working journalists and other employees of the newspapers.
It was in the backdrop of the foregoing realities that the government established Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) in 1976 through addition of clause 12 A in the Newspaper Employees ( Condition of Service) Act 1973. The credit for this revolutionary step goes to the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who wanted to promote well-being of working journalists and other employees of the newspapers. The tribunal is charged with the responsibility to ensure implementation of the Wage Board Awards to mitigate sufferings of the journalists. This function is performed either through suo-motu notice by the Tribunal itself or on the complaints of the journalists. The purpose of establishing the Tribunal was also to avoid lengthy litigation in the courts and deciding disputes within the shortest possible time.
Since I have served under the ministry of Information for nearly thirty two years I have maintained interest in developments and issues related to it as well as its affiliated departments and ITNE. The ITNE is headed by a chairman, a person possessing the same qualification as are necessary for the appointment of a high court judge. Although the successive heads of ITNE have been trying their best to do justice with their responsibilities but nobody can match with the current Chairman of ITNE Shahid Mehmood Khokhar who is imbued with extreme sense of duty and dedication which has rightly earned him appreciation of the journalists belonging to the print media. He through his decisive actions has made sure that thousands of journalists who were denied their legitimate dues and salaries for a long time were duly paid by the owners. He has not only been deciding cases but also making sure that they were implemented in letter and spirit without any procrastination. In addition to this he has demonstrated unrivalled courage to implement long outstanding rulings of ITNE including those dating back to 2010 undeterred by the influence of the powerful media owners. He has also initiated steps to forestall the chances of media owners doing financial injustice to their employees. In that sense he is also a reformist, a role that distinguishes him from his predecessors. My motivation to applaud the incumbent chairman of ITNE stems from my belief that credit must be given where it belongs.
I think I will be failing in my duty as a columnist if I do not acknowledge the role that the working journalists and their representative bodies have played in promoting freedom of expression by resisting coercive media regulatory laws. They fought a long battle against the most shameful Press and Publication Ordinance 1964 promulgated by President Ayub Khan which remained in vogue for quite a long time. Though the regulatory laws enacted after its repeal did grant some liberties to the media but they did not meet the internationally recognized standards of media freedom. Therefore the working journalists have remained in the forefront in challenging and protesting against laws meant to curb press freedom. Their opposition to PECA also represents continuation of their struggle. So whatever freedom of expression exists today is due to the unrelenting and persistent struggle by the working journalists. The owners of the media have no contribution in that regard. They invariably have been the beneficiaries of every regulatory mechanism in one way or the other by supporting successive regimes. It was perhaps the right time for them to start looking after the welfare of the working journalists and other employees by implementing the wage board awards in letter and spirit to create a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.
The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.