5th Wage Board implemented in 12 dailies only

But 41 dailies published from Dhaka and outside it, despite their adequate infrastructures and manpower, have not yet implemented the 5th Wage Board Awards, although it is mandatory on their parts. Besides, 376 media-listed newspapers across the country have not at all materialised the 5th Wage Board Awards.

These facts were revealed by a report of the inquiry committee formed by the government to see the position of implementation of the 5th Wage Board Awards in newspapers and news agencies.

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The 9-member committee headed by an additional secretary of the ministry of information yesterday submitted its report to Information Minster M Shamsul Islam. The committee started its work in April last, held seven meetings and prepared the report through threadbare discussions and evaluations of the information received from different newspaper and news agencies.

Members of the committee also visited different newspaper and news agency offices to see whether the 5th Wage Board Awards, announced in 1997, were implemented there.

The committee in its report made a six-point recommendation including suspension of government advertisements and supplements from those media, which were yet to implement the 5th Wage Board Awards.

Other recommendations include formation of a monitoring cell to see implementation of the wage board awards, enunciation of a national newspaper policy and taking action against the newspapers existing in name only.

The Information Minister praised the committee's report and assured that the recommendations made in it would be taken under serious considerations. He said the government was thinking about forming a national newspaper policy.

"Newspaper is the conscience keeper of the nation and the people will plunge into a crisis if there is any problem in this arena," Shamsul Islam said.

Committee's convenor and Additional Secretary of the information ministry Sirajul Islam and member-secretary and the ministry's senior assistant secretary Mahbub Moshkura were present.