The mass retrenchment resorted to by Indian news organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic left more than 2500 journalists jobless. Quite seriously, most of the sacked journalists were "threatened" and "forced to resign", reveals a report by the Press Council of India.
The report titled 'Report on retrenchment of journalists by media groups during the Covid-19 period' was prepared by a sub-committee formed in September 2023 to study the impact of laying off of journalists during the pandemic.
The report was prepared based on the depositions of a total of 51 journalists from 17 news organisations across English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali languages and 12 journalist unions and associations.
The testimonies were collected by the subcommittee during public hearings in the Press Clubs of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Journalists from English language news media based in New Delhi and Mumbai represent a bulk of those who deposed before the committee.
According to the report, 80 per cent of the journalists who lost their job during the pandemic "were forced to resign, opt for voluntary retirements, and terminated from their positions by their news organisations."
The report notes that most of these journalists were coerced into resigning or terminated without a notice.
Ashish Rukhaiyar, former markets editor with The Hindu newspaper, was terminated from his position on 19 June, 2020. In an open letter to news organisations on August 3, 2020, he wrote on LinkedIn, "Reporters were sacked over the phone. Some were called to the office and told to submit their resignation on the spot. News about discontinuation were pasted on notice boards. They were threatened that if they do not resign, they would lose out on payouts they are entitled to under law. There was absolutely no method in this madness. No memos, no performance related warnings, no red flags in appraisals, etc.."
Sunita Tewari, who had been associated with the Hindustan Times for over 20 years, was asked to resign from the Nandan magazine, a children's magazine associated with the publication, on August 30, 2020. The magazine was reportedly discontinued the same month.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we started work early in the morning at 3am-4am. On August 30, I got a call from the HR department asking me to come to the office. The long working hours were affecting my health. It was deteriorating as I was suffering from diabetes and heart issues. I informed HR about my health and inability to come to the office. The HR insisted that I come and sent a vehicle to pick me up. At the office, I was asked to resign. I gave all my life to my work. I was shocked when it happened, my diabetes shot up and subsequently, I was diagnosed with depression," Tewari testified before the committee.
She also testified that one of her colleagues, Santosh Gupta, a designer at the organisation, died by suicide after being retrenched.
The report also noted that most of the journalists who deposed before the committee "felt that they were personally attacked for their work."
Kavita Iyer, former associate editor of the Indian Express, in an open letter to her colleagues wrote that she was informed of the organisation's decision to let her go during a meeting at the office, prior to which she was asked to leave her phone outside the cabin.
"The HR manager who was also in the cabin said I would ‘have to resign’ and accept the relieving letter that was in the brown envelope in his hand, or I would be terminated and receive a termination letter... In any case, there was no need to apply any thought to the decision itself. Resign or be terminated is not really a choice once Option A and Option B for severance pay are explained," she wrote.
Iyer, who had spent 18 years of her career with the publication, pointed out that the sudden decision without even a prior notice was "dehumanising" for her.
“...Had I received a call a few days in advance, explaining that the inevitable is about to happen, that this is a business decision with no bearing on the work I do, I would have still been unhappy to exit, but would have retained my pride in this organisation and its commitment to humanity. Sadly, we are all now a little less human and a little more virus,” she wrote.
According to the report, Indian Express retrenched at least 35-40 journalists between July 11, 2020 and July 30, 2020, across various verticals and publications.
The report noted that the journalists who lost their jobs during the pandemic plunged into severe financial crisis, without the organisations being ready to pay compensation. Many of these journalists, especially reporters and photographers, had been working on ground in hazardous conditions during the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown spending from their own pockets for PPE kits, masks and other safety gear.
According to the report, only 37 per cent of the journalists who deposed before the committee have received a severance pay according to their contracts.
Deepak Turbhekar, a photographer with Mumbai Mirror, was asked to resign in January 2021 by the organisation over a WhatsApp call. The organisation had on December 5, 2020 decided to discontinue the publication of their daily print edition. Turbhekar, who had spent over 16 years with the organisation was threatened that if he wouldn't resign he will be terminated leading to his provident fund, gratuity and other benefits, being held back.
The report noted that Turbhekar broke down before the committee while explaining his current financial condition. He has been struggling financially for three years. The company just paid him one month's salary on his resignation. He used up the PF money to repay his home loan in Mumbai and surrendered his insurance for a mortgage.
Turbhekar explained that he was forced to sell his wife’s jewellery to support his elder daughter's education. He has a younger son studying in third standard.
“I don’t have money to buy equipment for photography and am no longer doing news photography as it isn’t sustainable. Freelance news photographers are paid between INR100-INR125 per photo. I see no hope for the future,” Turbhekar.
The report noted that many like Turbhekar have chosen to quit journalism due to financial constraints.
Another former employee at the Mumbai Mirror told TNIE that the news of the publication discontinuing its services came out of the blue, shattering him.
"The message saying that Mumbai Mirror has shut down came out of the blue from the editor one morning. The news left me shattered for I had to pay the house rent and take care of my daughter's education besides household expenses. It was like a slap on the face. It took some time for me to recover and before I could muster courage to apply for freelancing jobs," he recounted.
Prashant Nakwe, former photo editor with The Hindu, Mumbai, was terminated from the organisation on June 22, 2020 by an email. He has quit journalism and is now helping his wife with a home-cooked food and tiffin business that she was forced to start following Nakwe's retrenchment.
“We were expected to file daily pictures during the pandemic and were not provided with any safety gear or compensated for out of pocket expenses incurred for safety gear... Now the kitchen knife is more often in my hand than the camera,” he told the committee.
Along with the dire financial situation, the sudden loss of a livelihood has also taken a toll on these journalists' mental health, noted the report.
Prashant Barsingh, political reporter at the Sakal newspaper in Mumbai, was terminated from the organisation on August 14, 2020 by an email. At the time, he had an outstanding home loan of Rs 29,00,000 which he had taken for a government allotted flat.
Barsingh suffered a brain stroke due to the financial stress after being unable to pay the monthly installments of the loan.
"The retrenchments emotionally affected 40 (80%) journalists who deposed before the committee. Retrenchments also impacted the self-worth and the confidence of 40 (80%) journalists. Depression was reported by 30 (60%) journalists and 27 (54%) experienced social withdrawal. Senior journalists, in particular, were emotionally most affected. This was also witnessed in physical hearings where many senior journalists experienced emotional turmoil and were moved to tears," the report noted.
According to the report, the situation exacerbated for the journalists as the news media organisations refused to consider the directive passed by the Union government listing media professionals as 'essential workers' in the face of the pandemic.
"The reasoning for including the news media in the essential workers category was a recognition that the circulation of news and information is especially very important during crisis period when people are struggling to cope with the changing pandemic situation on daily basis, and when rumour mills in the unofficial channels of information are clouding people's understanding. However, we have to record that this 'essential workers' directive was ignored by most of the media companies, and they showed scant respect to the Union government's directive, firing and retrenching journalists at will," the report noted.
The report also pointed out that the government did little to bring into action its own directive.
"...When journalists in Mumbai and Maharashtra appealed to the state government to give 'essential worker' status and allow media persons to use the local trains and transport without hindrance, then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, rejected the demand. Requests by journalist representatives to then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to intervene and prevent wholesale terminations of media persons by companies also fell on deaf ears," the report said.
Job security, insurance, safety for journalists are need of the hour
"If journalists do not have job security then at that very juncture the freedom of press is compromised," the report observes before listing out recommendations to create a safe environment for journalists to work.
Highlighting that at the center of the issues faced by media professionals with regard to job security is the existing contract system and 'casual' system of employment, the report urged the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Ministry of Law and Justice to come up with a 'Model Contract' with certain mandatory clauses.
The clauses include a minimum tenure of service--7-10 years, provision of giving PF, Gratuity, ESI in applicable cases, provision for leave, yearly increment in salary etc.
The report also pushed for a severance payout of a minimum of 6 months of salary incase of termination or retrenchment.
The report also highlighted the need for news media companies to "ensure journalists are insured against force majeure events such as global pandemics and natural calamities."
Other recommendations listed out by the committee include fast tracking of pending labour disputes of journalists, providing safety gear for journalists working in hazardous conditions, easy access to compensation and benefits and steps to protect the mental health of journalists.