Employees in few TV channels not getting salary: Achuthanandan

Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan Tuesday said that employees in certain TV channels in Kerala are not getting their salaries on time.

"Employees working with India Vision, TV New and Jeevan TV are not getting paid on time. Even the mandatory payments (provident fund) ...are not being made. The government should intervene," said Achuthanandan in the state assembly.

Achuthanandan also took a dig on Social Justice Minister M.K. Muneer, who was the founding chairman of the India Vision TV channel and despite his relinquishing the post, whose family still holds a sizeable stake in the channel.

"He holds the portfolio of 'social justice', but that is being denied to the employees in India Vision. The labour minister is also silent," said Achuthanandan.

Information Minister K.C. Joseph said the state government had very little control on issues like this.

"However, I will bring this to the attention of the labour minister," said Joseph.

Kerala is home to more than a dozen TV channels and India Vision when it was set up in 2003 was the first round-the-clock news channel. India Vision is now off the air for the past one week, following protests by its employees over non-payment of salaries.