HC issues notice to Centre on wage board composition

The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Centre on a petition filed by an English daily "The Statesman" to scrap wage boards constituted by the government for working journalists and non-journalists. A Bench comprising Justices Manmohan Sarin and Manmohan asked the government to file its response by 13th May when the matter would be taken up for further hearing. The newspaper has also sought a stay on the proceedings of the wage boards, which were constituted in May last year. Senior Advocate Soli J Sorabjee and Arjun Harkauli, appearing for the daily, sought a direction to declare as null and void the proceedings of wage boards headed by Justice K Narayana Kurup. The newspaper has challenged the constitution of the wage boards alleging that its composition reflected a pro-labour/employee bias. "None of the three members are independent members but have been co-opted to the wage boards to introduce a pro-labour/employee bias. There is every likelihood of bias in the working of the wage boards," Sorabjee contended. "The constitution of the wage boards and consequent increase in wages/grant of interim wages is being pushed for by Minister of State for Labour and Employment as a populist move with an eye on general election," the daily said in its petition. "The Minister has therefore tried to subvert the process prescribed by the statute by appointing his cronies as independent members," the petitioner said alleging that constitution of wage boards suffer from "an institutional bias". The Centre had appointed two wage boards under the provisions of Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 on 24th May last year under the common chairmanship of Justice Kurup. The daily said all the three independent members common to the two wage boards K M Sahni, B P Singh and P N Prasanna Kumar were biased in favour of employees. The daily pointed out that the appointment of Sahni, a former Union secretary, as an independent member was not right as he was actively involved in setting up the present wage boards. "There is all likelihood of his working at the behest of Centre and not in the independent manner envisaged by the Act. He, therefore, has the direct bias against the newspaper employers who have been agitating for abolition of wage boards," the petition said. The other independent member Singh, who is on the personal staff of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who too has been appointed by the government, cannot be said to be an impartial man on the board, the petition said. Similarly, Prasanna Kumar, who is an active working journalist as a chief reporter with a Malayalam Daily, has been wrongly appointed as an independent member and cannot possibly deliberate and contribute independently, the daily said in its petition. "The actions of the government in the composition of the wage boards are invidious, malafide and a deliberate bias has been introduced in favour of the employees of the newspaper establishment," the petition said. The daily alleged that the government has forced representatives of Newspaper management to nominate three members who were to be common to both the wage boards which would put an "immense" and "unbearable burden" on it. "Nowhere in the Act, it is prescribed that the representatives of the employers have to be common in both the boards," the petition said.

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