Lalu Prasad, Ramvilas Paswan for wage revision for media persons

PATNA: RJD President Lalu Prasad and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan today favoured the constitution of a new wage board for journalists and other employees of media organisations in the wake of seventh Pay Commission for government employees.

"I will write a strong letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for constitution of a new wage board to help journalists and other employees of media organisations run their households properly in the light of price rise," Prasad said.

"Journalists and other media organisation employees are educated citizens of the country and take risk in collection and dissemination of news for betterment of society and deserves a handsome raise in their pay and perks like government employees are getting due to the seventh pay commission," he said.

Prasad said he is with the mediapersons on the issue and if the need arises, would hit the streets with them.

"Be ready to even go to jail in course of the agitation for new wage revision panel for mediapersons. I will be with you and will also not hesitate to be with you even in jail," Prasad said at a function of Federation of PTI Employees Unions here.

Prasad told PTI Federation General Secretary M S Yadav and other trade union leaders to make a strong case for setting up of a new wage revision body and chalk out agitational programme after uniting mediapersons of the entire country.

"I will stand strongly with you on this issue. Just intimate me about the date and course of your programme," he said.

The RJD chief alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre is catering to the need of owners of media houses and pays little attention to the need of journalists and other employees of newspapers and news agencies.

"We will not let this government ignore the genuine demands of media organisation unions for enhancing salary and other allowances of journalists and non-journalists and will gherao them to achieve it," Prasad said.

Paswan too supported the demand for setting up of a new wage board for hike in pay and perks of mediapersons similar to the seventh pay commission.

Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind had yesterday favoured a new wage board for hike in salaries of mediapersons.