REFUGEE

The Lake House Chairman has launched a project to employ freelance journalists on a contract basis to report on the Presidential election campaign.

The contract letter given to these journalists is for period of six months and they have been informed verbally that after six months, they would revert back to becoming freelance journalists.

Several freelance journalists for the Dinamina and Daily News newspapers have been employed on this contract basis.

The respective journalists have said the Lake House Chairman was trying to get the maximum out of them

during the forthcoming election period, adding that the Lake House management had not paid any notice to provide most freelance journalists with either long term contracts or make them permanent employees of the institution.

Sources said that although the Lake House Chairman had not made permanent the freelance journalists who do most of the writing work for the Dinamina and Daily News newspapers, he had taken steps to employ several young girls and boys who are associated with him and his daughter to Lake House as management trainees at a monthly wage of Rs. 20,000.
Meanwhile, the Lake House Chairman also commenced a voluntary retirement scheme last year claiming there was an excess in the institution’s work force. The Chairman introduced another such retirement scheme this year to reduce the workforce.

Journalists at Lake House have now begun to question as to how the Chairman has employed people when he was complaining about an excessive work force at Lake House. The real surprise according to these journalists is the silence of the President and the two Media Ministers.