Senior Supreme Court Lawyer Colin Gonsalves today termed the Supreme Court verdict on the Majithia Wageboard for Journalists and Non-journalists as a big victory for the employees.
Speaking at a felicitation function of the Confederation of Newspapers and News Agencies Employees Unions (CNNAEO) held here, he said the judgment was "historic" and will have "far-reaching" consequences for the entire newspaper industries.
He called upon the unions to strengthen themselves in the face of "moves to weaken" it by the industry switching over to contractual system.
CNNAEO General Secretary M S Yadav said the employees unions could win the long legal battle because of perseverance. "We could counter the managements' arguments forcefully with proper documents without resorting to unfair methods", he said.
The CNNAEO also condoled the death of All India Newspapers Employees Federation Madan Talwar who died on February 9.
The leaders described Talwar a fearless trade union leader who championed the cause of the employees of the newspaper industries for the past four decades.
Among these who spoke at the meeting included Suresh Akhouri (IJU), Rajendra Prabhu (NUJ-I), Parmanand Pandey (IFWJ), President of Indian Express Employees' Union C Naidu and veteran trade unionist Santosh Kumar.
