'Govt Owes Crores As Advertisement Dues; No Relief Packages Announced For Media' : INS & NBA Tell SC In Plea By Journalists Against Wage Cuts

Responding to notices issued to them by the Supreme Court, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) and News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have both sought the dismissal of a PIL filed by 3 Journalist Bodies against alleged ill-treatment towards employees by media organizations. Both INS and NBA contend that a writ cannot be issued against them since they are private bodies who do not come within the ambit of the 'State'. A writ against private bodies towards the enforcement of alleged Fundamental Rights is not maintainable at the outset. The petitioners have impleaded the Central government just to bring the matter within the scope of Article 32, but sought relief only from private bodies, not the Government, they argue. The NBA goes on to submit that the Petitioners have an alternate and efficacious remedy available is under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 (ID Act), while enforcement of alleged contractual rights between employer and employee is governed under the Indian Contract Act. In this light, a plea under Article 32 is impermissible. Reflecting the same view in its affidavit, INS asserts that "there is no averment in the Petition of any facts which would justify the invoking of such an extraordinary remedy when alternate remedies are available to the Petitioners." INS has further apprised the Court that a prayer for the blanket ban on salary cuts, termination and closure of all newspaper establishments, does not take into consideration that all such establishments are not equal and various aspects must be factored in. It has been argued that there are three categories of industrial establishments according to the ID Act, but the petitioners have wrongly presumed that all newspaper establishments employ over 100 workmen and thus come under one category. Industrial establishments which are not defined as factories under the Factories Act 1948, comprising of two categories where less than 100 workmen are employed, "have the liberty as per the Act to enforce retrenchments, closures and lay-offs without seeking the government's prior permission", argues INS. The NBA has also denied the locus of the 3 journalist bodies in the matter as neither represent the journalists of the country and are merely trying to safeguard their own interests, which disqualifies the present plea from being a PIL. INS goes on to highlight the financial constraints being faced by the media industry since the onset of the lockdown, due to which several prominent newspapers have had to 'drastically' reduce the number of pages while many have been forced to shut down the physical editions of the newspapers as vendors refused to deliver. Furthermore, several Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have banned the entry of any outsiders into colonies and buildings, due to which newspapers are not reaching homes in bigger cities, and in turn advertising revenues have taken a big hit. Monetary sustenance of the print media and entertainment sector is largely dependent on advertisement expenditure of industries such as FMCG, e-commerce, finance and automobile informs INS. However, this expenditure has been scaled back since being hit by the economic slowdown. "On average, the newsprint cost of a newspaper establishment is about 40-60% of its expenses while wages are about 20-30% of the expense. The net circulation revenue which is the cover price of a newspaper covers only a small portion of the total cost. Hence the lifeblood of a newspaper is revenue from advertisements", informs INS. "With advertisement revenues now hitting rock bottom due to COVID-19 and online platforms gaining hype, the key sources of revenues for the print media are on the verge of depletion." Throwing further light on the problems regarding resources being faced by the media industry, especially print media, INS has flagged off its concerns regarding realizing its dues from the Central and State Governments' advertising agencies. "As per various industry estimates, Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) owes between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800 crore to various media companies. A large chunk of this i.e. Rs 800-900 crore is owed to the print industry alone. Such amounts have been outstanding for several months and there is little prospect of realising the same any time soon. There has been a drop of approximately 80-85 per cent in government advertisements and a drop of approximately 90 per cent in other advertising due to the nationwide lockdown." Referring to the situation as 'unprecedented', the NBA has also raised concerns regarding the industry, which was already facing deep financial constraints, being severely affected due to the lockdown. Expressing its anguish at businesses collapsing, NBA further states that the Government has not come to the aid of the media and no packages or measures have been announced despite the grim situation."There ...

'Govt Owes Crores As Advertisement Dues; No Relief Packages Announced For Media' : INS & NBA Tell SC In Plea By Journalists Against Wage Cuts

Nilashish Chaudhary

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