SC directs media houses to clear employees’ arrears till April 30

ISLAMABAD, Apr 04 (APP):The Supreme Court Wednesday, directed owners of private media houses to pay salaries to the journalists and media workers till April 30, otherwise adverse action would be taken against them.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar passed the directives on an application filed by Press Association of Supreme Court President Tayyab Baloch, while hearing a case about the media commission, which was formed by the SC in 2013 to review major points of concern in mass media.
During the course of proceedings, representatives of all media houses appeared before the bench in compliance with its earlier orders.
Faisal Chuadhry, counsel for the Capital TV, informed the bench that his client would pay all arrears to its employees till May.
Naeem Bukhari, counsel for Channel 7, said the Channel had paid dues of Rs 220 million to its employees. However, a journalist, who was present in the court room, informed the bench that two-month salary of the Channel’s employees was outstanding.
The chief justice directed the owner of the Channel 7 to clear all arrears within 15 days.
Case regarding Rose TV was disposed of as its counsel said that all outstanding dues of its employees had been cleared.
Senior journalist Hamid Mir informed the court the Geo Group had not paid two-month salaries to its workers.
Anchorperson Matiullah Jan told the apex court that Waqt TV had also not cleared dues of its employees.
A journalist of Bol TV alleged that his channel had not paid its employees since 2015 as their arrears had now crossed Rs 350 million.
The court observed that it was a matter of bread and better of the journalists and directed the owners of media houses to clear all outstanding dues of their employees till April 30 or face consequences.
Hamid Mir, the petitioner in main case of media commission, urged the court to order implementation of the commission’s recommendations.
He reminded that the commission had recommended that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should be free of government’s control and the government had agreed to make the authority independent through an amendment to the law.
The chief justice remarked that PEMRA should be a strong and independent organization to manage its affairs without influence of any one.
The Additional Attorney General pleaded that the recommendations of the media commission could not be implemented according to the present laws as lawmakers would have to be part of the matter because it was a matter of division of powers.
After the 18th constitutional amendment, the matter should be reviewed, the federal government, however, wanted independence of the media, the AAG added.
The case was adjourned till Thursday.