Lucknow : The newly reconstituted national executive of the National Confederation of Newspaper and New Agency Employees’ Unions will hold its first meeting at Chennai in the third week of December. It will be hosted by Com Govindaswami Bhupathi, a veteran trade unionist (AINEF) and the new Secretary-General of the Confederation. The new National Executive is headed by Dr. Indukant Dixit, president of the Federation of PTI Employees Unions. Other affiliating units and nominees include : Shri Manohar Singh, (Delhi) of the National Union of Journalists (I), led by Shri Manoj Mishra, (New Delhi), and Shri Suresh Sharma (Bhopal), Shri. Rinku Yadav (Pioneer, the IFWJ), Shri G. Prabhakaran, (IJU, Kerala), Shri Jayant Mayank (of UNI, Mumbai), Shri Chandra Mohan Papnai (NFNE), and Smt. R. Chandrika, electronic media in Chennai. Others belong to AINEF, Times of India and Jansatta-Indian Express unions.
Today is the 43rd foundation day of independent India’s apex organization of media persons, including press workers. It was held on Gandhiji’s 152nd Jayanti, (Monday morning, 2 October 1978,) on the holy banks of the Mandakini near the Kamadgiri hill-forests, where Lord Ram and his brother Prince Bharat (like journalists and press workers) had met.
Com. TR. Ramaswami, (editor of Tamil daily, Makkal Kurai, Chennai), then IFWJ president, had presided over the five-day conference and also IFWJ national council session. Com. S.Y. Kolhatkar, CITU leads and president of the All-Indian Newspaper Emoloyees Federation and Com. Mrinal K. Ghosh, general-secretary of the Federation of PTI Employees Unions, had addressed. Later presidents included late Dr. Shantibhai Patel, M.P. and Bombay mayor, Late Com. Umraomal Purohit, H.M.S. president and AIRF chief, and Com. Thampan Thomas, socialist M.P. (Cochin). The host was the IFWJ, whose secretary-general, Com. K. Vikram Rao was then just released from the Tihar central jail (Delhi) and reinstated as the Times of India staffer in Lucknow. He was dismissed by the ToI management and jailed by the Emergency regime. Petroleum Minister in the Janata Party ministry H.N. Bahuguna had inaugurated the session. N.D. Tiwari, leader of Congress Opposition in U.P. Assembly, was the chief guest. Ganeshdutt (Daddu) Vajpeyi, Janta Party govt. labour minister, had addressed it. Over 700 delegates joint session.
The Confederation today has set up its head-office at U.P. Press Club premise in Lucknow. Com. Premkant Tiwari, general-secretary of the U.P. Working Journalist Union, Lucknow, (Phone : 8005111449) is its national coordinator. Com. Tiwari was the Confederation’s national secretary in 1995. He was then with the National Herald, Lucknow.
The Confederation chairman, all vice-chairmen, the secretary-general will be specially invited be to the IFWJ’s 71st Foundation Day (28 October) at Udaipur (Rajasthan).
