Chapter 3(E) Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 – CS Professional Labour Laws and Practice Notes is designed strictly as per the latest syllabus and exam pattern.
Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 – CS Professional Labour Laws and Practice Study Material
Question 1.
What is the rationale for enacting Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955.
Answer:
- The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act was passed in the year 1955,
- Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules was passed in the year 1975.
- It is applicable to whole of India excluding the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
- The objective of Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees is to protect rights of journalists like leave, payment of gratuity, retrenchment, hours of work, compensation for overtime and the setting-up of a wage board.
Question 2.
Do the provisions of Industrial Dispute Act 1947 apply to working journalists?
Answer:
- According to section 3 of The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employee Act, the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, shall, apply to industrial workmen with modification.
- Provisions of Section 25F regarding the notice period of workers for retrenchment is not applicable to working journalists.
- The period of notice of retrenchment for editor is six months and for any other working journalist is three months.
Question 3.
What are the provisions of Gratuity applicable to journalist?
Answer:
- Section 5 of The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employee Act deals with payment of gratuity for working journalist?
- Journalist with 3 years of service are eligible to gratuity on :
- termination (other than by punishment) or
- retirement or
- voluntary resigns or
- death in service.
- Gratuity shall be paid 15 days average pay for every completed year of service or part in excess of 6 months.
- The gratuity will be subject to deductions on account of over payments made to a working journalist by the newspaper establishment liable to pay such gratuity and monies borrowed by the working journalist from such newspaper establishment.
Question 4.
What are the provisions relating to working hours of Journalist?
Answer:
- According to section 6, a working journalist shall be required or allowed to work in any newspaper establishment for not more than 144 hours during any period of four consecutive weeks.
- Every such journalist shall be allowed at least 24 hours of rest during any period of seven consecutive days of work, the period between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M therein.
- Every working journalist shall be entitled to earned leave on full wages for not less than 1/11th of the period spent on duty and also leave on medical certificate on Vz of the wages for not less than one-eighteenth of the period of service.
Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 Notes
Objective of the Act
An Act to regulate certain conditions of service of working journalists and other persons employed in newspaper establishments
Newspaper Employee
Means any working journalist, and includes any other person employed to do any work in, or in relation to, any newspaper establishment
Journalist and applicability of Industrial Disputes Act
Provisions of Industrial Dispute Act 1947 to apply to working journalists
Provisions of Wages of Journalist
Working journalists are entitled to receive wages at a fixed rate.
- The wages are entitled to revision.
- The fixation and revision of wages shall be made by the Central Government (through a wage board)
- Wage Board which shall consist of –
- 3 persons representing employers in relation to newspaper establishments
- 3 persons representing working journalists
- 4 independent persons, one of whom shall be a person who is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court and who shall be appointed by that Government as the Chairman thereof.