The Supreme Court ruled in favour of employees in the Majithia Wage Board dispute for journalists and non-journalist employees of newspaper establishments on Monday. A vacation bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi passed the order, saying the benefits of Majithia Wage Board is to be extended to contractual employees too.
The SC has directed that the Majithia Wage Board recommendations on wages for newspaper employees have to be implemented in full and managements could not cite lack of funds for avoiding payments. “There was no difference between full-time employees and contract workers as far as the implementation of the Majithia Wage Board recommendations are concerned”, it also said in judgement.
On February 8, the apex court dismissed all writ petitions moved by newspaper managements against the Majithia Wage Board. The court ordered the owners to pay their employees the wages as revised/determined by the wage board payable from November 11, 2011, when the Government of India notified the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board.
All the arrears up to March 2014 would be paid to the eligible persons in four equal installments within a period of one year. The revised wages will become payable from April 2014.
