Parliament demands timely salaries for media workers

Islamabad: The financial crisis facing media workers has reached a serious stage, with a parliamentary discussion revealing that a journalist had been forced to attempt suicide because of severe financial hardship caused by unpaid salary.

The issue arose during the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting discussion involving the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), where lawmakers demanded a clear time frame for salary payments to journalists, reporters, technical staff and other media employees.

Members said media workers should not suffer due to financial problems between government institutions and media organisations. They stressed that workers had no role in creating those problems and needed their salaries to meet daily expenses and support their families.

Lawmakers questioned why salary delays continued for three or four months and why a firm system to ensure timely payment still did not exist.

One member pointed out that a worker earning around Rs38,000 could not survive for months without a salary, while senior anchors could receive salaries running into hundreds of thousands of rupees. The member demanded that ordinary workers receive the same seriousness and protection as senior media figures.

The committee was told that the issue had been discussed for two to two and a half years, but a clear time frame had still not been established.

Lawmakers warned that workers were being pushed towards protest because they could no longer wait for repeated promises that payments would be made soon.

The parliamentary discussion also focused on whether money paid to media organisations was reaching their employees. Members asked for information about television advertising, payments received by channels and whether any channels were running advertisements on credit.

The concern was that media organisations may be receiving advertising income while workers were still waiting for salaries. Lawmakers demanded details so they could understand why workers were facing financial hardship.

The discussion then turned directly to PEMRA and its regulatory role. Chairperson PEMRA told the committee that the authority already has a regulatory system under the PEMRA Amendment Act 2023, its rules and regulations and the Code of Conduct introduced in 2015.

PEMRA said it monitors satellite television channels around the clock. Its teams review news and entertainment programmes and can call channels for hearings or send matters to the Council of Complaints when content is considered objectionable.

The authority also came under pressure over licence fee payments. Officials told lawmakers that Pakistan currently has 134 licensed satellite television channels.

When asked how many pay their licence fees on time, officials said almost 50 percent make payments on time, while the rest need pressure from PEMRA to clear their dues.

PEMRA said several channels had delayed payments for a long period. Notices were issued, channels were called for hearings and payment plans were arranged.

The regulator set September 30 as the final payment date for channels that had been allowed to clear their dues in stages. Officials warned that failure to pay could result in license cancellation.

Members questioned why large media businesses should be allowed to delay payments owed to the government while ordinary workers struggle to receive their salaries.

The committee also asked PEMRA to provide complete details of pending liabilities of television channels, including the amount owed, how long the payments had been pending and what action had been taken for recovery.

Morning shows were another major concern. The committee questioned the content being shown on television and called for clearer standards covering language, sensitive subjects, guests and overall programme content.

PEMRA was directed to prepare a comprehensive code of conduct for morning shows so that programmes remain within legal and professional standards.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about content that they considered unsuitable for young viewers and questioned what action PEMRA takes when a programme or host repeats controversial material outside the television channel.

PEMRA explained that while it can take action against material broadcast by licensed channels, platforms such as YouTube fall outside its regulatory domain. Social media regulation is handled by the Social Media Pakistan Regulatory Authority.

Live sports broadcasts also came under discussion, Member Syed Amin Ul Haque complaining that advertisements sometimes interrupt important moments during live cricket and hockey matches.

The committee stressed that viewers should not miss live action because advertisements are inserted at critical moments.