New Delhi: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly condemns the Union Government’s unilateral
implementation of the four Labour Codes, a move that will have far-reaching and
adverse consequences for journalists, media workers, and the very foundation of press
freedom in India.
The newly implemented Codes subsume and virtually abolish two landmark legislations
the Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 and the Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of
Wages) Act, 1958. These Acts, secured through decades of struggles by journalists
across the country, have long served as protective pillars ensuring independence of
journalism from employers, advertisers and political power centres.
By dismantling these historic safeguards, the government has struck a blow at the
autonomy of journalists and weakened the institutional framework that protects media
freedom. At a time when journalists are demanding expansion of these Acts to include
electronic and digital media workers, the government has chosen the opposite path
shrinking protections instead of broadening them.
IJU President Geetartha Pathak, former Member of the Press Council of India, said:
“This move is nothing short of an assault on the freedom of the press. The Working
Journalists Act was not merely a labour law it was a constitutional guarantee of
media independence. Its subsumption into the Labour Codes erodes the hard-won
rights of journalists and directly undermines the democratic role of the press.”
IJU Secretary General Vinod Kohli, also a former Member of the Press Council of India,
stated:
“These Codes were pushed through without adequate consultation with media
stakeholders. The curtailment of journalists’ statutory protections will embolden
employers to dilute working conditions, suppress critical voices, and weaken
institutional journalism. IJU stands firmly with all trade unions opposing these antiworker and anti-media Codes.”
The IJU notes that while the government highlights provisions like portability of benefits,
national floor wage and accident compensation, it has ignored the Codes’ deeply
problematic clauses on fixed-term employment, retrenchment, and stringent
restrictions on the right to strike all of which will disproportionately affect journalists
and precarious media workers already burdened by job insecurity.
The Union further observes that the government’s move comes despite numerous
objections from central trade unions, journalists’ bodies and labour experts. The
absence of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) since 2015 and the disregard for
repeated appeals to scrap the Codes reflect an alarming erosion of democratic
consultation.
In solidarity with the central trade unions, the IJU demands:
1. Immediate repeal of the four Labour Codes.
2. Restoration and strengthening of the Working Journalists Acts.
3. Expansion of legal protections to include electronic and digital media journalists.
4. Immediate convening of the Indian Labour Conference for democratic deliberation.
The IJU urges journalists across the country to remain vigilant and united in
safeguarding the rights and protections that underpin free and independent journalism.
