Kathmandu, February 6

The Supreme Court has stayed the government’s decision to enforce minimum wage rules for employees working in media houses.

A single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana issued the interim order in response to a writ petition filed by Mohan Chandra Singh of Image Channel, a private television channel.

The petitioner had sought interim order against the government’s decision, arguing that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology only had the power to hike minimum wage for working journalists and not other employees working in media houses.

The bench told the government not to execute its decision to hike minimum wage for employees of media houses till the final verdict in the case.

The government had decided to hike the minimum salary of journalists and employees working in media outlets by 25 per cent on October 18, 2018.

The bench observed that although the  government had the authority as per  Section 11 of Working Journalists Act, 1995 to form a committee  to hike the salary of working journalists, in this case the government had issued a notice in Nepal Gazette notifying a hike in minimum salary of both working  journalists and other employees.

“The court therefore stays the government’s decision to hike minimum wage of employees working in media outlets till the final decision in the case,” the Supreme Court stated in its order.