Journalists Threaten To Stage Protests Outside Standard Group Offices

The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) has threatened to mobilise media workers to stage protests outside Standard Group Limited offices along Mombasa Road in Nairobi and its other offices countrywide in 14 days.

Speaking to the media, the union's Secretary General Erick Oduor directed Standard Group to formulate a plan to remit their journalists who lamented going for six months without a salary, failure to which it would proceed with the strike.

"We are giving the company 14 days to come up with a payment plan with a view to settling arrears, or else we will mobilize media workers in a solidarity strike to picket at the company’s offices countrywide," stated Oduor.

The union earlier called for a presser to condemn the impunity and injustice being perpetuated by the country's second-largest media house which owns the Standard Newspaper, KTN, KTN News, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, Vybez Radio, and other media products.

Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) Secretary-General, Eric Oduor. /FILE

KUJ lamented that it has tried everything including negotiations to address the salary crisis coming as the media house itself faces a serious cash crunch, adding that it has received complaints from colleagues on the verge of going to extremities.

"We have decided to call this press conference because we have tried other means, mainly negotiations with management to find solutions to the non-payment of salaries to staff, but regrettably, only unfulfilled promises were made. We are saying Enough is Enough!

"We have received distress calls from frustrated colleagues, and the company must be ready to take responsibility for mental torture that could lead some employees to make unfortunate decisions," KUJ cautioned.

KUJ notably accused Standard Group of playing in a media space where bad management practices, injustices, and violations of human rights are called out, adding that it has lost its moral compass and, therefore, can no longer purport to question injustices and bad governance.

A press invite earlier sent to newsrooms revealed that KUJ intended to stand in solidarity with the Standard Group journalists in demand for their pay through campaigns against the impunity and injustice.

"We express our solidarity as the media industry with our colleagues whose rights are being violated by the employer, yet wages and salaries are protected by the Employment Act. In addition, Article 41 of the Constitution guarantees every worker a right to fair labour practices," the union continued.

The oldest media house in the country spanning more than a century in existence is reported to have not paid its staff for six months, with photographers and correspondents going for 10 months without getting compensation for their daily duties.

KUJ termed this as not only illegal but immoral and a gross violation of human rights, and therefore, "the company must be held to account, especially by its stakeholders and business partners".

"We call upon the board of Standard PLC to respect the rights of these workers and meet their end of the bargain so that their staff can live in dignity and meet their financial obligations. We also call for investigations into the company’s financial transactions to explain to the public what went wrong. 

"Last but not least, workers have lost their savings with Standard Sacco as a result of non-remittances from the company, and we call upon the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority to help members recover their money," KUJ demanded.

Should KUJ live up to their threat of protests and should Standard Group fail to adhere to the union's demands, the media house risks having many of its operations grind to a halt as its journalists continue demanding their dues ahead of the festive season.

From mass firings to forced voluntary retirements, the media house has been going to extremes to salvage its revenues which are shrinking with each passing day.

Its last redundancy notice was issued to staff on Friday, September 1 and was the first since the promotion of its Managing Director-Broadcast Division, Joe Munene as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

This move however blew open a window of opportunity for rival media houses to poach their star performers in the media space, with Radio Maisha the most affected of all of Standard's media products.