Arunachal scribes demonstrate against Centre's move to repeal

Journalists in Arunachal Pradesh staged a sit-in on Friday against the Centres move to repeal the Working Journalists Act (1955) and the Working Journalist (Fixation of Wages) Act 1958 along with other labour laws.

The scribes under the banner of Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) wearing black clothes sat on protest at the Press Club here demanding immediate withdrawal of the two Labour Code bills.

In the two Labour Code bills, one on working conditions and the other on wages, introduced in the Lok Sabha, the government proposed to repeal the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1955, and the Working Journalist (Fixation of rates of wages) Act, 1958 along with 11 other labour laws.

We staged the dharna to protest the arbitrary move of the Narendra Modi government to scuttle the rights of working journalists and the bills are an infringement of the Working Journalist Act, APUWJ President Amar Sangno said.

The state's media fraternity demands immediate withdrawal of the "anti working class, anti journalists" and media workers labour code bills immediately, he said.

The APUWJ, Arunachal Electronic Media Association (AEMA) and Arunachal Press Club (APC) expressed gratitude to the Pema Khandu-led government for fulfilling their long-standing demand for treating journalists at par with group A officers.

The state government in a recent notification said accredited journalists will get facilities enjoyed by group A officers in all the state government accommodations like inspection bungalows, circuit houses, tourist lodges, bhawans and guest houses across the country.

With the notification, Arunachal Pradesh became one of the last states in the country to implement this provision for the accredited journalists, the media bodies said in a statement here.