PEMRA adjudicates outstanding dues of media workers

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has adjudicated non-paid dues of journalists and workers by various private media channels.

A total of 390 complaints were lodged with PEMRA’s Council of Complaints by various electronic media journalists and workers regarding the non-payment of salaries and outstanding dues.

The complaints had been filed after amendments were made to the PEMRA Ordinance in 2023, which allows media workers to seek redressal of their complaints and grievances.

According to documents exclusively available with HUM News English, of the 390 complaints lodged with the PEMRA, 377 pertained to unpaid salaries and due by BOL News.

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The remaining 13 complaints were lodged against other satellite TV channels. The PEMRA first referred these complaints to the Council of Complaints, where hearings were conducted to ensure due process for both the complainants and the respondents (TV channels).

According to the documents, the Council of Complaints has adjudicated 386 of the 390 complaints, with four cases still under process. These cases involve further verification of the claims regarding outstanding dues, after which final decisions will be made.

After a thoroughly review of the complaints and hearings, the Council of Complaints forwarded recommendations to the PEMRA for appropriate action.

The amendment to the PEMRA Ordinance aimed to provide a more robust platform for electronic media workers to take up their issues related to salary discrepancies and non-payments.

On the intervention of PEMPRA, Said Rasool has claims of Rs78,000 against Khyber News; Imtiaz Alam Rs48,000,000 against Geo News; Salman Hassan Rs18,450,000 against GNN; Syed Arif Raza Zaidi Rs651,299 against LTN Family; Imtiaz Ali Rs388,666 against LTN Family.

Similarly, Imran Waseem has claims of Rs2,345,980 against BOL News, and a group of 374 complainants, including Sami Ibrahim have claims of Rs399,403,472 against BOL News; Munawar Iqbal Butt Rs 2,520,000 against News One; Saeed-ur-Rehman Lodhi Rs1,861,954 against News One; Syed Asfar Imam Rs1,950,000 against News One; Irfanullah Rs426,000 against Dawn News; Rauf Klasra Rs40,000,000 plus a Toyota Fortuner car against Talon Media House, Farooq Raza Shah Rs 2,640,000 against Aik News and Mumtaz Bano against Rs660,000 from Leo Communication.