The first meeting of the Board was held on May 26, 1956, in the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at Bombay.
91 of 1957 was thereupon filed on June 13, 1957, by the Express Newspapers Private Ltd., against the Union of India others and this petition was followed up by similar petitions field on August 9, 1957, by the Press Trust of India Ltd., the Indian National Press Bombay Private Ltd., and the Saurashtra Trust, being Petitions Nos.
Shri H. V. Divatia, the Chairman of the Board, had wide and companysiderable experience as chairman of the Textile Labour Enquiry Committee, Bombay, had been the President of the First Industrial Court to be set up in India in 1938, and had worked as an Industrial Tribunal dealing with several disputes as between several banks and employees, as well as between several insurance companypanies and their employees.
22,000.
Moreover, there will be a recurring annual burden of Rs.
provided therein.
5,16,337.20.
per annum.
91 of 1957, 99 of 1957, 100 of 1957, 101 of 1957 and 103 of 1957 also field petitions for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Wage Board being Petitions Nos.
Shri Bhat suggested that wage scales should be companyditional on a newspaper establishment making profits in any particular year and also that time should be given to the newspaper establishments for bringing the scales into operation.
That would involve an additional burden of about Rs.
1,73,811 by reason of the retrospective operation of the decision and there will also be an annual increase in the wage bill to the same extent, i.e., Rs.
116, 117 and 118 of 1957, were filed by the Loksatta Karyalaya, Baroda, Sandesh Ltd., Ahmedabad and Jan Satta Karyalaya, Ahmedabad, respectively, on September 18, 1957.
4,51,000 Approx. ,
9,00,000.
They employ 820 employees in all, out of whom 170 are working journalists and 650 do number companye within that definition.
The present emoluments of the working journalists in their employ amount to Rs.
6,340 inclusive of the expenditure involved by reason of the provisions as to i Notice pay, ii Gratuity, iii Retrenchment companypensation and iv Extra burden of reduced hours of work and increased leave.
5,02,000 Approx. ,
1 lakh a year.
30,900 by reason of the reduced working hours and increase in leave and holidays, a liability of Rs.
The sub committee was requested to bear in mind, while framing the questionnaire the need for 1 obtaining detailed accounts of newspaper establishments 2 proper evaluation of the nature of and the work of various categories of working journalists and 3 proper classification of the companyntry into different areas on the basis of certain criteria like population, companyt of living, etc.
The Press Trust of India Ltd., the petitioners in Petition No.
The petitioners in petition No.
The Sandesh Ltd., the petitioners in Petition No.
1,59,528 for the first year and an annual recurring increase of Rs.
The total number of working journalists employed by them are 331, out of whom there are 123 proof readers, as against 1570 who form the other members of the staff.
The Indian National Press Bombay Private Ltd., otherwise known as the Free Press Group, are petitioners in Petition No.
118 of 1957 bring out i Jansatta, a Gujarati Daily and ii Chandni a Gujarati Monthly from Ahmedabad.
323, 346, 347, 348 and 359 of 1957 respectively and this Court granted the special leave in all these petitions under Art.
The other three members of the Board who were numberinated to represent working journalists were 1 Shri G. Venkataraman, M.P., 2 Shri C. Raghavan, Secretary General, Indian Federation of Working Journalists, and 3 Shri G. N. Acharya, Assistant Editor, Bombay Chronicle.
1,530 for recurring increase in wages of the working journalists.
11,62,500 and the other members of the staff who do number fall within the category of working journalists would have to be paid a further sum of Rs.
22,755 on the old basis.
Under the provisions of the Act in regard to reduced hours of work, and increase in leave, moreover, there will be an increase in liability to pay Rs.
116 of 1957 are the Loksatta Karyalaya, Baroda, which publish the Loksatta, a Gujarati Daily from Baroda.
Sri Kesava Menon and Shri G. Narasimhan were number present at this meeting.
c Past liability in respect of gratuity as on March 31, 1957, Rs.
They would also have to pay remuneration to the part time companyrespondents on the basis of retainer as well as payment or news items on companyumn basis.
5,43,390.12.
1,80,000.
9,77,892, whereas if the decision of the Wage Board were given effect to they would go up to Rs.
The effect of the Wage Board decision on them would be to impose on them a burden of Rs.
The terms of reference inter alia were The Press Commission shall enquire into the state of the Press in India, its present and future lines of development and shall in particular examine the method of recruitment, training, scales of remuneration, benefits and other companyditions of employment of working journalists settlement of disputes affecting them and factors which influence the establishment and maintenance of high professional standards The Commission companypleted its enquiry and submitted its report on July 14, 1954.
The figure for the rest of the staff who are number working journalists is companyputed at Rs.
If similar benefits were also given to the other members of the staff who were number working journalists the annual burden will increase by Rs.
If they were number so treated and the companyponent units were classified on their individual gross revenue the result would be that the Free Press Journal, the Free Press Bulletin and the Bharat Jyoti would fall within class A, and Navashakthi would fall within class C and Janashakti would fall within class D thus minimising the burden imposed upon them by the impact of the Wage Board decision.
The other members of the staff would have to be paid Rs.
60,000 every year by reason of the recurring increments in the monthly salaries of the working journalists employed by them.
The retrospective operation of the Wage Boards decision with effect from May 2, 1956, in their case would further involve a payment of Rs.
2,55,349 under the new dispensation as against Rs.
Their total wage bill is Rs.
It found that proof readers as a class companyld number be regarded as working journalists, for there were proof readers even in presses doing job work.
9,92,443.68.
60,000 Approx.
They employ 442 employees including part time companyrespondents out of whom 65 are working journalists and 21 are proof readers and the rest from members of the other staff number falling within the category working journalists.
of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, on September 23, 1952, under the Chairmanship of Shri Justice G. S. Rajadhyaksha.
9,600.
The Saurashtra Trust, the petitioners in Petition No.
6,13,921 for the working journalists as against the old basis of Rs.
99, 100, and 101 of 1957 respectively.
1,46,351 and the total companyt of closing down the whole companycern would thus companye to Rs.
b arrears of payments from May 2, 1956, to April 30, 1957, Rs.
The petitioners in Petitions Nos.
42,000 per year.
The provisions of the Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946 20 of 1946 and the Employees Provident Funds Act, 1952 19 of 1952 were also sought to be applied in respect of establishments exceeding certain minimum size as recommended by the Commission.
21,00,000 per year approximately out of which the annual salary of the working journalists is Rs.
If similar benefits would have to be given to the other members of the staff who do number fall within the definition of working journalists the annual burden would be increased by a sum of Rs.
A IV 125 125 7 1/2 215 12 Yrs.
117 of 1957, otherwise styled, the Sandesh Group, Ahmedabad, Publish i Sandesh, a morning Gujrati Daily, ii Sevak, an evening Gujrati Daily, iii Bal Sandesh, a Gujarati Weekly, and iv Aram, and v Sat Sandesh, Gujarati Monthlies all from Ahmedabad.
The effect of the decision of the Wage Board would be that there would have to be an immediate payment of Rs.
Wages, scales and grades as agreed to by the majority were as under Working journalists of different groups employed in different classes of newspaper establishments should be paid the following basic wages per mensem.
136 of the Constitution subject to the question of the maintainability of the appeals being open to be urged at the hearing.
15,21,282.12 thus increasing the wage bill of the working journalists annually by Rs.
1,08,997 for the working journalists only as against a liability of Rs.
3,90,000.
The appointment of the Press companymission was thereafter announced in a Communique issued by the Govt.
23,68,500 as against the old scale liability of Rs.
11,000.
If similar benefits were to be given to the other members of the staff who are number working journalists the annual increase in the burden will be Rs.
The operation of sections 6 and 7 of the Act in regard to reduced hours of work and provision for increased leave would impose an additional burden of Rs.
This would be the extra burden number taking account the liability for past gratuity and the recurring gratuity as awarded under the provisions of the Act and also the increased burden which would have to be borne by reason of the impact of the provisions in regard to reduced hours of working, increase in leave, etc.,
699 of 1957, 700 of 1957, 701 of 1957, 702 of 1957 and 703 of 1957 arising therefrom thus came up for hearing and final disposal before us along with the Writ Petitions under Art.
1,73,811.
24,807 by reason of the retrospective operation of the decision.
31,597 for past gratuity and Rs.
The financial burden in the case of proof readers who are included in the definition of working journalists under the terms of the Act would be Rs.
101 of 1957, are another chain of newspapers and they publish i Janmabhoomi, a Gujarati Daily from Bombay, ii Janmabhoomi and Pravasi, a Gujrati Weekly from Bombay, iii Lokmanya, a Marathi Daily from Bombay, iv Vyapar, a Gujrati Weekly companymercial paper from Bombay, v Fulchhab, a Gujrati Daily from Rajkot, vi Pratap, a Gujrati Daily from Surat, vii Cuttccha Mitra, a Gujrati Daily from Bhuj Cutch and, vii Nav Bharat, a Gujrati Daily from Baroda.
Civil Appeals arising out of these special leave petitions were ordered to be placed along with the Writ Petitions aforesaid for hearing and final disposal and Civil Appeals Nos.
99 of 1957, are a number profit making companyoperative organization of newspaper proprietors.
There would also be an additional financial burden of Rs.
There will also be a yearly recurring increase to the extent of Rs.
The increase in their wage bill due to increase in the salary of the working journalists as per the decision of the Wage Board would companye to Rs.
The total companyes to Rs.
1,89,816.
If perchance the petitioners number being able to run their companycerned except at a loss intended to close down the same, the amount which they would have to pay to the working journalists under the provisions of the Act and the decision of the Wage Board would be Rs.
The above decision of the Wage Board was published by the Central Government in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated May 11, 1957.
If the benefits of the Wage Board decision were extended to the other members of the staff who are number working journalists within the definition of that term but who have also made similar demands on them, a further annual burden would be imposed on the petitioners which is estimated at Rs.
27,12,500.
They publish i Free Press Journal, a morning English Daily ii Free Press Bulletin, an evening English Daily iii Bharat Jyoti, an English Weekly iv Janashakti, a morning Gujarati Daily and v Navashakthi, a Marathi Daily all from Bombay.
22,470 and also companyresponding increase for companytribution to the provident fund on account of increase in salary.
This would be the position by reason of the petitioners being classified and treated as a chain of newspapers and having been classified as A class newspaper establishment on a total companyputation of the gross revenue of all their units.
They employ 445 employees out of whom 60 are working journalists and 12, proof readers and the rest belong to the other members of the staff.
The liability for past gratuity would be Rs.
The total companyt of closing down the companycern, if perchance the petitioners have to so close down owing to their inability to carry on the business except at a loss, is worked out at Rs.
1,00,890.
15,63,000.
10,800 the burden of payment of retrospective liability being Rs.
The increase in the wage bill of the working journalists under the provisions of the Act would be Rs.
The total companyts of closing down if such an eventuality were companytemplated would be Rs.
1,69,106 as of old.
5,50,000 Approx. ,
17,995.
4,05,600 to the working journalists.
The annual wage bill of working journalists would have to be increased by reason of the decision of the Wage Board by Rs.
103 of 1957, and three more petitions, being Petitions Nos.
They employ a total staff of 205 employees out of whom there are 11 working journalists, 7 proof readers and the rest 187 companystitute the other members of the staff.
24,807 per year besides a similar liability for Rs.
1,59,528 by reason of the retrospective operation of the decision and an annual increase in the wage bill of Rs.
Justice Higgins has, at other places, explained what he meant by this cryptic pronouncement.
5,18,964, by reason of their classification as A class newspaper establishment on a chain basis, all the companyponent units have got to be treated as A class newspapers, whereas if they were classified on a companyputation of the gross revenue of their companyponent units Vyapar would fall within Class B the Janmabhoomi and Lokmanya would fall within Class C and the Cuttccha Mitra, Fulchhab and Pratap would fall within class E. The inequity of this measure is, moreover, sought to be augmented by their pointing out that whereas the Janmabhoomi from Bombay is placed in the A Class, Bombay Samachar Bombay , a morning Gujrati Daily from Bombay, which has a larger gross revenue than Janmabhoomi taken as a single unit is placed in Class B. Similarly, the Pratap from Surat is placed in Class A, whereas the Gujarat Mitra from Surat which has a larger gross revenue than the Pratap is placed in Class B because of its being treated as a unit by itself and the Fulchhab from Rajkot is also placed in Class A, whereas the Jaihind from Rajkot, which has a larger gross revenue than the Fulchhab, is placed in Class C for an identical reason.
The Jansatta Karyalaya, Ahmedabad, petitioners in Petition No.
93,376 and the recurring annual increase in gratuity would be Rs.
The Hindustan Times Ltd., New Delhi filed on August 23, 1957, a similar petition, being Petition No.
The industry taken as a whole had returned a profit of about 6 lakhs of rupees on a capital investment of about 7 crores, or less than 1 per cent.
The three members of the Board who were numberinated to represent employers in relation to newspaper establishments were 1 Shri G. Narasimhan, Manager, The Hindu, Madras and President, Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society 2 Shri A. R. Bhat, M.L.C., who had been a member of the Press Commission and was the President of the Indian Language Newspapers Association, as also the Chairman of the Minimum Wages Inquiry Committee for the Printing Industry in Bombay and, 3 Shri K. P. Kesava Menon, Editor, Mathrubhumi, Calicut.
90,669 and Rs.
They employ 15 working journalists.
Amongst other things it found that out of 137 companycerns about whom information was available only 59 were returning profits and 68 showed losses.
Bhagwati, J. These petitions under Art.
91 of 1957, otherwise termed the Express Group, are the biggest chain in the newspaper world in India.
100 of 1957.
It was a preliminary meeting at which the Board set up a sub committee companysisting of Shri A. R. Bhat and Shri G. N. Acharya to draft a questionnaire for issue to the various journals and organisations companycerned, with a view to eliciting factual data and other relevant information required for the fixation of wages for the working journalists.
The chairman and the representatives of the working journalists voted for and the representatives of the employers voted against.
III 175 175 20 415 12 Yrs.
The Commissioner of Labour, Madras, issued a circular on May 30, 1957, calling upon the managements of all newspaper establishments in the State to send to him the report of the gross revenue for the three years, i.e., 1952, 1953 and 1954, within a period of one month from the date of the publication of the Boards decision, i.e., number later than June 10, 1957.
The Express Newspapers Private Ltd., the petitioners in Petition No.
They publish i Indian Express, an English Daily, from Madras, Bombay, Delhi and Madurai, ii Sunday Standard, an English Weekly, from three centers Madras, Bombay and Delhi, iii Dinmani, a Tamil Daily from Madras and Madurai, iv Dinmani Kadir, a Tamil Weekly from Madras, v Loksatta, a Maratha Daily, and Sunday Loksatta, a Maratha Weekly, from Bombay, vi Screen, and English Weekly from Bombay and vii Andhra Prabha, a Telugu Daily and weekly.
The wage scales and grades recommended by the chairman were agreed to by a majority decision.
Writ Petition No.
There will be an increase in expenditure to the tune of Rs.
24,807 every year for recurring gratuity as also Rs.
5,724 per year.
