APCU demands pension parity

By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Dec 13: The Assam Press Correspondents’ Union (APCU) has moved Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal with a memorandum through his media adviser Hrishikesh Goswami seeking pension parity. An APCU team led by its president Manoj Singh today met Goswami and appealed to him to hike the already announced jourlists’ pension of Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 8,000 a month so as to maintain parity with the pensions being paid to litterateurs, artistes and sportspersons by Dispur. The team of jourlists’ further appealed to Goswami to ensure family pension for the next of kin of jourlists in the event of their death as is the case with litterateurs, artistes and sportspersons. Apart from pension, the team also requested Goswami for other demands as well. They team raised the demand for the construction of a jourlists’ guest house in Guwahati and ecting a special Act for the protection of jourlists. They submitted the memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister through Goswami. On his part, Goswami said that the State government would certainly look the problems and demands of jourlists as the government is always with the media. The team also requested Goswami to ensure monthly clearance of amounts which Dispur owes to newspaper houses for publishing advertisements.