Working Journalist Act in Nepal. The paper describes situation of implementation working journalist act and minimum wages as set by Minimum Remuneration Fixation Committee (MRFC) in Nepal.
1. WORKING JOURNALIST ACT IN NEPAL
2013, January
Siromani Dhungana
Lecturer (Journalism and Mass Communication)
Tribhuvan University
Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: siromanidhungana@gmail.com | meshiromani@gmail.com
2. Definition of Working Journalist
"working journalist" means a person who does
communication related business or service as a main
business and is engaged either whole-time or part-time in
a communication enterprise in consideration for
remuneration, other than a person who has managerial and
administrative powers in a communication enterprise, and
this term also includes a person who is related with the
profession of journalism such as a chief editor, editor who
collects, produces, edits or transmits news items in, or a
correspondent, stringer, news reader, program director,
translator, web designer, columnist, photo journalist, press
cameraperson, cartoonist, program producer or operator,
audio or language editor, in a communication enterprise.
- Working Journalists Act – 1993 (2051 BS)
3. Major provisions in law
Not to engage in work without making appointment:
Working Journalists Act – 1993 has ensured that
media owner cannot engage any person in the
functions of the post of working journalist without
making appointment according to the law
Posts to be filled by open competition
Another provision of the act is that the media houses
should fill the posts of working journalists required for
company by making selection through open competition,
in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
4. Major provisions in law
Provision of Appointment in Contract Basis
Media houses can appoint a person to the post of
working journalist on the contract basis, specifying a
specific period of time. However, according to the act,
such appointments may be made only up to Fifteen
percent of the total number of working journalists
engaged in the concerned communication enterprise.
Six months of Probation Period
The act has provided a probation period of Six months.
If performance of concerned journalist is not
satisfactory during that period, the appointment may be
voided.
5. Major provisions in law
Working hours
The time of work to be done by a working journalist
in a week shall not exceed forty eight hours, and he
or she shall get one day of weekly leave by rotation
in each week
Subject of Additional Facilities
Ifany working journalist is engaged in work for
more time than that specified pursuant to Sub-
section (2), such additional facility as prescribed
shall be provided to him or her.
6. Minimum Remuneration Fixation
Committee (MRFC)
The act has envisaged a Minimum Remuneration
Fixation Committee to make recommendation to the
Government of Nepal as to the fixation of minimum
remuneration to which working journalists are
entitled and the review of such remuneration as
required.
If for any reason, the Committee is not able to fix the
minimum remuneration of working journalists &
recommend it to the Government, the government
itself may fix the minimum remuneration of working
journalists.
7. Formation of MRFC
Chairman – The government appoints chairman
Member – representative from Ministry of
Information and Communication
Member – Ministry of Labor and Employment
Member – Chairman, Federation of Nepali Journalist
Members (3) – from among working journalists
including at least a woman
Members (3) – from among managers
Member – Labor and Finance expert
Member Secretary – Press Registrar
8. Welfare Fund
The act has made media houses liable to establish a
welfare fund as prescribed for the rights, interests and
security of working journalists.
The act says, “Gratuity, provident fund and medial
treatment and other facilities to which working
journalists are entitled shall be as prescribed.”
No change in the ownership of a communication
enterprise shall be prejudicial to the service,
conditions of service and facilities of working
journalists serving in such a communication
enterprise.
9. Minimum wages
The government has approved the revision of minimum
wage for working journalists in the country as proposed
by the Minimum Wage Fixation Committee (MWFC) in
2011.
The government approved a minimum of 10,008 rupees
as wage for a journalist working in a national level
media house, whereas the minimum wage of staff
working in such organization should be Rs 7,367.
Likewise, the minimum wages proposed for journalists
working in other publication houses other than national
level media houses is Rs 7,228 while the minimum wage
staff working in such organizations get is Rs 6,405.
10. Working Journalists Act and Its
Implementation
Various media experts said the condition of working journalists in the
nation have not improved even after the implementation of minimum
wage system in media houses, adding that media owners are yet to
change their age old mentality.
- From http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2011/mar/mar27/news09.php
One needs to wait some time to see if the multimillion media houses
are capable of implementing the act.
- From http://www.groundreport.com/World/First-to-implement-working-journalist-
act/2895600
The new Working Journalists Act has been adopted and it provides for
a minimum wage for journalists, but it is not being implemented
properly. The wage commission has submitted a report to the
government on how to decide the minimum wage.
- From: An Agenda for Change: The Right to Freedom of Expression in Nepal
11. Freedom House Says:
Many workers at Nepal’s news outlets do not receive
professional training, are informally employed, and are
paid well below prescribed minimum wages. In
November 2010, a committee was established under
Nepal’s Working Journalists’ Act to review journalists’
extremely low wages, as well as their lack of retirement
benefits, medical coverage, and insurance. There was no
tangible progress on this subject in 2011. Since the
government is a major source of advertising, journalists
are often forced to self-censor their reporting in order to
avoid any conflict with the ruling party.
- From: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2012/nepal
12. Committee for the Fixation of
Minimum Wages reports:
A committee formed under the Working
Journalist Act pointed out in a report submitted
November 24, 2010, that 37 percent of the
country’s journalists are paid below the
prescribed minimum wage, while 45 percent are
working without letters of appointment. Among
the media houses surveyed, 48 percent had
failed to introduce basic measures such as
retirement and welfare funds, medical cover and
insurance.
13. Problem in Government-run Media
Among the media groups reported by the FNJ to be
in default on basic obligations under the Working
Journalist Act is the government-owned
Gorkhapatra Sansthan. Though statutory wage
levels are formally notified within this group, which
publishes the Nepali language Gorkhapatra and the
English-language Rising Nepal, a large number of
working journalists – well beyond the 15 percent
limit sanctioned under the WJA – are believed to be
employed contract.
-From: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/in-defence-of-press-
freedom-in-south-asia-journalists-organise-for-a-new-deal
14. What is way forward?
Journalism is not just like other profession. It
has enormous social responsibility. In Nepal,
however, journalism is yet to be a lucrative
profession. Sincere effort from government,
media owners, trade unions and even journalists
is needed to implement the act effectively.
Otherwise, journalism will be a profession of
emotion rather than maturity.
15. Paper presented at MBMC under
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Siromani Dhungana
Researcher, Journalist & Media Educator
Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: siromanidhungana@gmail.com | meshiromani@gmail.com
