The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
deeply disturbed over reports of a mass retrenchment by the Nawa-i-Waqt media
group in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an IFJ affiliate, has
reported that an estimated 170 journalists and media workers have in recent
weeks lost their jobs in the news organisation.
At a
recent meeting in Pakistan’s
national capital of Islamabad,
the Federal Executive Council, the highest deliberative body of the PFUJ,
sharply condemned the move by the Nawa-i-Waqt management, which had built its reputation
and its fortunes on the back of the tireless and dedicated work of its staff
over many decades.
The
Nawa-I-Waqt group publishes an Urdu daily of the same name, and an English
language daily The Nation. The group has a strong presence in the
magazine sector and owns the Waqt TV news channel. The 170 media persons to be retrenched by the news organisation were
employed across the group’s various operations and were concentrated in the
major centres of Karachi, Lahore,
Islamabad, Rawalpindi,
and Multan.
The
grounds for the mass retrenchment, according to the PFUJ, are unconvincing.
Some of the personnel have been told, falsely, that they have attained the age
of superannuation, while the affected staff of the Waqt TV channel have been
given the alibi of mounting operational losses.
The PFUJ
informs the IFJ that the retrenchments violated the mandatory requirements of
fair process in terms of notice period and appropriate levels of compensation.
“The IFJ
deplores this latest manifestation of unfair labour practices in the Pakistan media
sector,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director
Jacqueline Park.
“Job
insecurity has been a malaise for Pakistan’s journalists for most of
the past decade, with estimates of 1,500 staff members losing their jobs since
2001.”
“We extend
our support and solidarity to the PFUJ in their effort to highlight the growing
threats to professional security. We fully share our affiliate’s concern that
media freedom itself is endangered by the tendency for media organisations to
make journalists the first targets in situations of economic downturn”.
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries
Find the
IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific