At least 380 employees of four outlets belonging to The Assam Tribune group have not received their salaries since April, the staff union alleged on Tuesday. According to the union, 75 percent of March salaries also remain unpaid.
Founded in 1939 by Radha Govinda Baruah in Guwahati, the Assam Tribune Group publishes two widely read dailies: The Assam Tribune (in English) and Dainik Asom (in Assamese). It also has one Assamese weekly named Asom Bani and a monthly magazine named Gariyoshi.
On Tuesday, the employees say they have been protesting since May 13 without any resolution. “The assistant labour commissioner held two tripartite meetings regarding salary payments. The management made promises on both occasions but failed to honor them,” the union said in a statement.
According to sources in the union, the total arrears amount to around Rs 5 crore.
The Assam Tribune is among the most circulated English dailies in the region, with around 52,000 copies distributed daily, while Dainik Asom has a circulation of 16,000, according to data from the Directorate of Information and Public Relations for the year 2023. The Assam Tribune group also claims to be the first news publishing house in India to implement the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board in 2010.
The union noted that employees were always paid under the leadership of former managing director Prafulla Chandra Baruah but the situation has changed under the new management which has cited government advertisement dues as the reason for the crisis.
According to the union, the organisation is yet to receive more than Rs 6 crore from government advertisements. “Our question to the government is – why are employees being made to suffer because of unpaid advertisement dues?...At the same time, we urge the management to diversify revenue streams instead of depending solely on government ads.”
Newslaundry reached out to the group’s management for comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.
Manabendra Dev Ray, director of the DIPR, said all dues until January had been cleared and sanction had been given for payments pertaining to February and March had been given on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the balance-sheet of the Assam Tribune Private Limited showed the company has been in profit for the last two financial years. In 2023-24, the company earned a revenue of Rs 56.38 crore while its expenditure stood at Rs 55.83 crore with a profit margin of Rs 55.38 lakh. In 2022-23, the company booked a profit of Rs 39.96 lakh with a revenue of Rs 62.01 crore and Rs 61.61 crore expenditure.
The highest amount was spent on paying ‘employees benefit’ which stood at Rs 32.13 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 31.63 crore in 2022-23.
The group is yet to respond to the union’s allegations. However, it issued a statement on Tuesday denying rumours about the alleged sale of the media house. “The management of The Assam Tribune has noted circulation of unfounded and misleading rumours concerning the alleged sale of the publication. We categorically deny these claims and affirm that they are entirely false and without merit.”
Complaining about the media is easy. Why not do something to make it better? Support independent media and subscribe to Newslaundry today.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
