KATHMANDU, Oct 8: The government has decided to increase the minimum salary of journalists by 25 percent to be effective from October 18.

A meeting of the cabinet on Sunday decided to hike the minimum monthly salary to Rs 24,300 from existing 19,500, said Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota. He further informed that the pay hike will be applicable for journalists working in both government-owned and private sector media organizations.

Earlier, the Minimum Wages Fixing Committee had recommended Rs 29,700 as minimum salary for journalists proposing 50 percent hike on the existing minimum salary. Minister Baskota further explained that minimum salary for journalists working in online media outlets may vary based on the outlets' status. The minister said the online outlets themselves will have to declare whether they are national, provincial or local media outlets.

Meanwhile, the cabinet appointed Krishna Murari Bhandari as executive chairman of the Gorkhapatra Corporation, approving resignation of Chairman Govinda Pokhrel. The meeting also decided to seek clarification from the Corporation's General Manager Basanta Prakash Upadhyaya within three days over his alleged poor performance on the job. Upadhyaya was reinstated to the post following court decision few months ago after the government decided to annul his appointment to the post.

 
• government
 
• hikes
 
• salary
 
• journalist