Press Statement

Indian TV terminates dozens of employees

13 Aug, 2014

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Indian Union of Journalists (IJU) in harshly condemning the arbitrary termination of a large number of journalists from Focus NE, a TV station based in Guwahati, Assam.

More than 40 employees including journalists, newsroom staff and camerapeople of Focus NE were either sacked or forced to resign as per management’s decision to “cut costs”, according to the  IJU.

The affected journalists and their fellow employees along with media rights organisations in Assam staged a demonstration against the mass termination outside the office of the channel at Ulubari, Guwahati on August 11.

SN Sinha, the president of IJU, said: “We are shocked to learn that the services of a large number of employees, including newspersons, camera-persons and other employees, have been terminated by the management of Focus NE TV for one ostensible reason.”

He further added: “While strongly protesting against such termination of the services of employees who have rendered years of dedicated service to the organisation, we call upon the TV channel to immediately reinstate these employees without precipitating the matters any further.”

The IFJ and the IJU urge news organizations to comply with labor laws and not arbitrarily terminate journalists’ services for cutting costs.

“The IFJ condemns such a sudden and brutal cost-cutting reaction that will affect more than 40 media workers and their respective families. Focus NE has an obligation to comply with laws and we demand it fulfils those duties enshrined in labor laws immediately.”

Written By

IFJ Asia-Pacific IFJ Asia-Pacific

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries.
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