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| Bare
acts |
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The
Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees
(Conditions of Service) and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955
The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees
(Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions
Act, 1955, together with the Working Journalists
(Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions
Rules 1975, covers
rights of journalists like leave (including maternity)
and holidays, payment of gratuity, retrenchment,
hours of work, compensation for overtime and the
setting-up of a wage board.
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| Chapter
1 (Preliminary) |
| 1) |
a)
Short title and commencement:
This act may be called Working Journalists and other
Newspaper Employees (Conditions of service) and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955.
b) It extends to the whole of India, except the
state of Jammu and Kashmir. |
| 2)
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Definitions:
b) 'Newspaper' means any printed periodical work
containing public news or comments on public news
and includes such other class of printed periodical
work as many, from time to time, be notified in
this behalf by the central government in the official
gazette.
c) 'Newspaper employees' means any working journalists
and includes any other person employed to do any
work in or in relation to any newspaper establishment.
d) 'Newspaper establishment' means an establishment
under the control of any person or body of persons,
whether incorporated or not for any production or
publication of one or more newspaper or for conducting
any news agency or syndicate.
(f) 'Working journalists' means a person whose principal
avocation is that of a journalist and (who is employed
as such, either whole-time or part -time in, or
in relation to, one or more newspaper establishment),
and includes an editor, a leader writer, news-editor,
sub-editor, feature-writer, copy-tester, reporter,
correspondent, cartoonist, news-photographer and
proof-reader, but does not include any such person
who - |
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a)
is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative
capacity or
b) being employed in a supervisory capacity, performs,
either by the nature of duties attached to his office
of by reasons of the power vested in him, and function
mainly of a managerial nature. |
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| Chapter
2 Working journalist |
| 3) |
Sec
25-f of
the aforesaid act, in its application to working
journalist, shall be construed as in Cl. |
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(a)
thereof, for the period of notice referred to therein
in relation to the retrenchment of a workman, the
following periods in relation to the retrenchment
of a working journalist has been substituted, namely
-
a) six months, in case of an editor,
b) three months, in case of any other working journalists.
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Termination
of service without notice - effect thereof - where
a journalist was permitted to continue into employment
even after he has attained the age of superannuation,
but later on his service were terminated without
giving him notice or retrenchment compensation,
it was held by the court that the action of the
management of the company in terminating the services
was illegal and improper. |
| 4) |
Special
provisions in respect of certain cases of retrenchment:
Where at any time between July 14, 1954 and March
12, 1955, any working journalist had been retrenched,
he shall be entitled to receive from employer -
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a)
Wages for one month at the rate to which he was
entitled immediately before his retrenchment, unless
he has been given one month notice in writing before
such retrenchment; and
b) Compensation which shall be equivalent to 15
days average pay for every completed years of service
under that employer or any part thereof in excess
of six months. |
| 5)
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Payment
of gratuity:
Where |
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a)
any working journalist has been in continuous service,
whether before or after the commencement of this
act for not less than three years in any newspaper
establishment and |
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i)
his services are terminated by the employer in relation
to that newspaper establishment for any reason whatsoever,
otherwise than a punishment inflicted by way of
disciplinary action or
ii) he retires from services on reaching the age
of superannuation or |
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b)
any working journalist has been in continuous service
whether before or after the commencement of this
act for not less than 10 years in any newspaper
establishment and he voluntarily resigns on or after
July 1, 1961 from services in that newspaper establishment
on any ground what so ever other than on the ground
of conscience or,
c) any working journalist has been in continuous
service whether before or after the commencement
of this act for not less than three years in any
newspaper establishment and he voluntarily resigned
on or after July 1, 1961, from services in that
newspaper establishment on any ground whatsoever
other than on the ground of conscience or
d) any working journalist dies while he is in service
in any newspaper establishment |
| 6) |
Hours
of work |
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1)
Subject to any rules that may be made under this
act, no working journalist shall be required or
allowed to work in any newspaper establishment for
more than 144 hours during any periods of four consecutive
weeks, exclusive of time for meals.
2) Every working journalist shall be allowed during
any period of seven consecutive days rest for a
period of not less than 24 consecutive hours, the
period between 10 pm and 6 pm being included therein
(Explanation - for the purpose of this section,
'week' means a period of seven days beginning at
midnight on Saturday.)
The maximum hour of work for any period of consecutive
weeks is 144 hours. |
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| Working
Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous
Provisions Rules, 1975 |
| Chapter
3 Hours of work |
| 7)
Special provisions regarding editor, etc (hours
of work) - |
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The
provision of this chapter shall not apply to editor,
or to correspondents, reporters or news photographers
2) Not withstanding any thing contained in sub rule
(1) the following provision shall apply to every
correspondent, reporter, news photographer stationed
at the place at which the newspaper (in relation
to person is employed) namely |
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a)
Subject to such agreement as may be arrived at either
collectively or individually between the parties
concerned, every correspondent, reporter or news
photographer shall, once he enters upon duty on
any day, be deemed to be on duty throughout that
day till he finishes all the work assigned to him
during the day.
Provided that if such correspondent, reporter or
news photographer has had at his disposal for rest
any interval or intervals for a total period of
two hours or less between any two or more assignments
of work, he shall not be on duty during such period.
Provided further that where the total period of
such interval or intervals exceeds two hours, he
shall be deemed to be on duty during the period
which is in excess of the said period of two hours.
b) Any period of work in excess of 36 hours during
any week (which shall be considered as a unit of
work for the purpose of this subrule) shall be compensated
by rest during the succeeding week and shall be
given in one or more spells of not more than three
hours each.
Provided that where the aggregate of the excess
hours worked falls short of three hours, the duration
of rest shall be limited only to such excess. |
| 8)
Normal working days |
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The
number of hours which shall constitute a normal
working day for working journalists exclusive of
time for meals shall exceed six hours per day in
case of a day shift and five and half hours per
day in case of night shift and no working journalist
shall ordinarily be required or allowed to work
for longer than the number of hours constituting
a normal working day. |
| 10)
Compensation for overtime work |
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When
a working journalist works for more than six hours
on any day in the case of day shift, and more than
five and half hours in case of night shift, he shall
in respect of that overtime work, be compensated
in the form of hours of rest equal in number to
the hours for which he has worked overtime. |
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| Chapter
4 Holidays |
13)
The number of holidays in a year
A working journalist shall be entitled to 10 holidays
in a calendar year and
15) Shall be entitled to wages on all holidays if
he was on duty.
16) A working journalist shall be entitled to wages
for weekly day of rest if he was on duty. |
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| Chapter
5 Leave |
| Without
prejudice to such holidays, casual leave or other
kind of leave as may be prescribed, every working
journalist shall be entitled to - |
| 25) |
a)
Earned leave on full wages for not less than one-eleventh
of the period spent on duty, provided that he
shall cease to earn such leave when the earned
leave due amounts to 90 days.
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| 28)
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Leave
on medical certificate: 1) A working journalist
shall be entitled to leave on medical certificate
on one-half of wages for not less than one-eighteenth
of the period of service. |
| 29) |
Maternity leave -
1) A female working journalist who has put in not
less than one year's service in the newspaper establishment
in which she is for the time being employed shall
be granted maternity leave on full wages on production
of a medical certificate from an authorised medical
practitioner for a period which may extend for three
months from the date of its commencement or six
weeks from the confinement whichever is earlier.
2) Leave of any other may be granted in continuation
of maternity leave.
3) Maternity leave shall also be granted in case
of miscarriage, including abortion, subject to the
condition that the leave does not exceeds six weeks.
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| 30)
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Quarantine
leave -
Quarantine leave on full wage shall be granted by
newspaper establishment on the certificate of authorised
medical practitioner for a period not exceeding
21 days or in exceptional circumstances, 30 days.
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| 31) |
Extraordinary
leave -
A working journalist who has no leave to his credit
may be granted, at the discretion of newspaper establishment
in which such working journalist is employed leave
not due. |
| 33) |
Study
leave may be granted in same pattern. |
| 34) |
Casual
leave -
1) A working journalist shall be eligible for casual
leave at the discretion of newspaper establishment
for 15 days in a calendar year.
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| Setting
of the wage board |
For
the purpose of fixing or revising rates of wages
in respect of working journalists, the central government
shall as and when necessary constitute a wage board
which shall consist of -
a) Three persons representing employers in relation
to newspaper establishments
b) Three persons representing working journalists
c) Four independent persons, one of whom shall be
a person who is or has been a judge of high court
or supreme court and who shall be appointed by the
government as the chairman. |
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| Powers
of the central government to enforce recommendations
of the wage board |
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After
the receipt of the recommendations of the wage
board the central government without affecting
the important alternation in the character of
the recommendation can modify it.
Friday September 6, 2002
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