EMMC contractual workers protest, demand wage hike

Hundreds of contractual workers of the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC), an office under I&B Ministry, today protested here demanding wage hike and increase in the duration of their contract period.
In a memorandum to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Venkaiah Naidu, the employees demanded hike in their salaries alleging that they have not got any raise in the last three years while the Central government employees are getting wages as per 7th Pay Commission.
The protesters, demonstrating outside the Shastri Bhawan, said that they are employed on contractual basis for three months and claimed that for the last three times they were assessed on the basis of written test while earlier it was done on the basis of work.

They also claimed that the majority of them have been working for about 7-8 years.
The employees said the workers in similar media organisations such as Doordarshan News are employed on one year contract period and are assessed on the basis of work.
However, a ministry official said the demands raised by EMMC employees are "not new and they are being taken up with top priority" by the ministry.