Lahore journalists protest layoffs, pay cuts

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 22 October 2018

Journalists in Lahore protested outside the Punjab Assembly against layoffs and salary reductions by media houses. They announced a continuous protest campaign and called for better treatment of media workers.

Summary

LAHORE – A Joint Action Committee of Journalists on Monday protested outside the Punjab Assembly against the illegal layoffs of journalists, salary delays, and pay cuts by media houses.

The journalists also boycotted the press gallery at the assembly and announced setting up of a regular camp at the Lahore Press Club from October 24.

Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz ul Hasan Chuhan told the provincial assembly and later the protesters that the PTI government had not stopped government ads to media houses and imposed no cuts in the advertising rates.

He said that if the news organizations had laid off media workers on the pretext of falling ads, it was condemnable.

The minister said that a code of conduct was being developed which once approved by the assembly will allow for a media person to complain to the DGPR if he/she does not get paid for more than two months. The department, he said would stop releasing ads to that news organization.

Azam Chaudhry, the convener of the Joint Action Committee, said that Monday marked the start of their protest campaign.

He called for ending the economic murder of journalists and immediate reinstatement of terminated colleagues.