Centre asks states to implement Majithia Wage Board

New Delhi, Jul 21 () The Centre today reviewed status of implementation of the Majithia Wage Board award for working journalists and non-journalists with representatives of state governments here. The meeting was held against the backdrop Supreme Court's judgement of July 19 in which it held that the Majithia Wage Board award has to be implemented in full. The apex court had also clarified on four important issues like payment of wages as per Majithia Wage Board Awards, admissibility of variable pay, applicability to contractual employees and financial capacity of the newspaper establishments to pay arrears. The meeting, held under chairmanship of Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, discussed the issues relating to implementation of the recommendations of the Wage Board with the representative of the state governments, an official release said. As per the said Act, the implementation of therecommendations of the Wage Boards lies with the stategovernments, it said."During the meeting, the state governments/ UTAdministrations were impressed upon to implement the WageBoard Awards in letter and spirit."Discussions were also held to bring the journalists ofelectronic and digital media under the ambit of the WorkingJournalists Act, 1955," the release said.State governments were requested to tender theirconsidered opinion in this regard.As the last Wage Board was constituted in 2007, the issueregarding constitution of a new Wage Board was also discussedin the meeting. NKD CSMR