The government yesterday formed the Seventh Wage Board with retired Judge of the High Court Division Habibur Rahman Khan as its chairman to recommend increased wages for journalists, employees and press workers after reviewing the Sixth Wage Board Award.
The wage board will submit its recommendations to the government within two months, said an official announcement.
The members of the board are Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, Jugantor Editor Golam Sarwar, Independent Editor and Publisher Mahbubul Alam, BSS Managing Director and Chief Editor Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Sangbadik-Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad co-convenor Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, its member-secretary Ruhul Amin Gazi, and members Abul Hashem and Khairul Islam.
Deputy secretary (Law and Order) of the Ministry of Information Khurshid Alam was made secretary of the board.
As per its terms of reference, the newly constituted wage board will review the Sixth Wage Board Award for announcement of the seventh wage board award in consultation with all parties concerned, aiming to remove anomalies in salaries and allowances of the journalists, employees and press workers.
The board will make recommendations after discussion with all concerned for taking measures against those newspapers that will not implement the government-announced wage board award.
The board will also recommend whether those newspapers that will not implement the wage board award would get zero tariff facility in newsprint import and other facilities, including advertisement.
Earlier, the government had approved the final recommendations of the Sixth Wage Board Award relating to salaries, allowances and other benefits for the journalists, employees and press workers on December 6, 2007. But the journalists, employees and press workers rejected the award.