Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated pleas to employers not to lay off workers during the lockdown, 80 radio jockeys of All India Radio’s FM Gold in Delhi are out of work.
The state broadcaster Prasar Bharati, which oversees the AIR and Doordarshan, has decided that in cities that has three FM channels, one will be dedicated to news about the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, FM Gold, mostly an infotainment channel, has suspended its usual shows.
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All 80 jockeys who anchor the shows in Delhi are casual workers, and are paid for the shows they anchor.
These 80 jockeys have not been called to work since March 20, five days before the lockdown was imposed nationwide. Harikrishan Sharma, president of AIR Casual Announcers and Compères Union, sent multiple e-mails to Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, but has got no response.
In his e-mail, Mr. Sharma has flagged two circulars. The first one is the March 20 advisory issued by the Labour Secretary to the Chief Secretaries of all the States. It asked them to reach out to private as well as public enterprises and ensure that no worker is laid off.
The Department of Expenditure, under the Ministry of Finance, issued a circular on March 23. It said, “In order to avoid any undue hardships under the prevailing extraordinary circumstances, it has been decided that wherever any contractual, casual and outsourced staff member of the Ministries/Departments and other organisations of the Government of India is required to stay at home in view of the lockdown..., they shall be treated as ‘on duty’ during such a period of absence and necessary pay/wages would be paid accordingly.”
“FM Gold Delhi is not alone in this situation. In fact, many AIR stations across the country have cancelled the booking of casual radio jockeys. This is a stark example of unbridled and arbitrary functioning of AIR, which shows how the country’s biggest radio broadcaster is ignoring the Prime Minister’s repeated appeals, and the instructions issued by the Union government,” said Rama Sharma, a radio jockey working with FM Gold.
