Employees at Madhyamam, a prominent Malayalam daily, have re-ignited their agitations against prolonged salary delays. After internal pressure did not improve matters, employees had staged a public protest last year. As their grievances allegedly remain unresolved, employees have held a sustained protest since September 3. 

They have also accused the management of forcing them to give up permanent employment and come back to the same jobs as contract workers for lesser pay.  

Close to 200 permanent staff members, with work experiences of 12 to 39 years, allege that they have not been paid regular salaries in the last eight months. The management has cited a financial crisis, they say. 

They further allege that to be paid regularly, management has given them the sole option of becoming contract workers for lower salaries. 

Despite several rounds of talks between the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), both current and former labour ministers, employee representatives and management, no acceptable resolution has been reached, union leaders say. 

On September 29, employees held a day-and-night protest in front of the Keralam Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. The protest was jointly organised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and the Kerala Newspaper Employees' Federation (KNEF), backed by 12 national and state trade unions.

Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the demonstration and urged the state government to intervene. 

Madhyamam is a popular Malayalam newspaper founded in 1987 in Kozhikode and is run by the Ideal Publications Trust. They are considered the fourth largest circulated newspaper in Kerala and the largest circulated Asian daily in the........

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