Newspaper workers plan hunger strike | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Newspaper workers plan hunger strike

ISLAMABAD- The journalists and employees of a Sindhi daily have threatened to observe hunger strike till death, if their demands are not met by August 14.

The workers of daily Sindh, who have been observing token hunger strike in front of the PID office for the past five days, told sources that they had taken the decision after getting no response from the ministry of information.

The editor and 14 other workers of the newspaper have been observing the token hunger strike in protest against the closure of their paper due to financial constraints after the government reduced the advertisement quota of the newspapers by 50 per cent in 1999.

They regretted the attitude of the government officials and the MPs, saying no one had come and inquired about their problems despite the fact that they had been sitting on the roadside for the past five days. These workers had arrived in Islamabad after covering a distance of 1,400 kilometres on foot. They said the closure of the newspaper had caused unemployment to about 100 persons and their families were facing great difficulties.

Source: Dawn
Date:8/7/2003