Strongly supporting media persons’ demand, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said her party MPs will soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that the demand for implementation of the wage boards is met.
Addressing a large number of journalists and non-journalists, who were demonstrating in front of the Union Labour Ministry, she said TMC leaders will also raise the issue of wage boards in Parliament.
Ms. Banerjee said she will impress upon leaders of other parties to get the wage boards recommendations implemented.
Accompanied by party MP Derek O’Brien, the TMC chief said journalists and other staff of newspapers and news agencies were doing hard work and there was no justification in depriving them of the salary revision.
Trinamool Congress is the second largest constituent of the Congress-led UPA having 19 members in the Lok Sabha.
Peeved over non-implementation of the recommendations of Justice G. R. Majithia wage board reports, which were notified on November 11, 2011, media persons held nation-wide demonstration today for immediate implementation of the report.
Besides the national capital, demonstrations were organised in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Jaipur, Patna, Bhopal, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh among other places.
The agitation was organised by Confederation of Newspapers and News agencies Employees Organisations, constituting prominent national level bodies of newspaper industry.
In Delhi, the agitating media persons also demonstrated in front of the office of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for creating “hurdles” in the implementation of wage boards report.
‘Govt. should intervene’
Addressing the protesters, Confederation General Secretary M. S. Yadav said the government’s responsibility does not end just by issuing the notification which, he said the managements of newspapers and news agencies have “consigned to the dustbin.”
He demanded that the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi should immediately intervene and instruct managements of newspapers and news agencies to implement the wage boards or government should stop giving them advertisements.
Mr. Yadav thanked TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, former Union Minister and RJD MP Ragubansh Prasad Singh and others for demanding immediate implementation of wage boards in Parliament.
Protesting media persons in the State capitals submitted memorandum to all parties urging them to impress on the Central government to get the wage revision implemented immediately.
