On Friday, April 17, the Employment and Labor Relations Court at Milimani law courts ordered Standard Media Group not to slash their employees' salaries.
This is after the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), which has a collective agreement with the media house, filed a case seeking to stop it from actualising the directive that had been documented on April 7, 2020.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, KUJ Sec-Gen Eric Oduor, stated that the media house did not consult with the union.
"We have a collective agreement with the Standard that stipulates the procedure when such decisions are being made. The union was not consulted," he informed.
Additionally, he stated that the media house violated journalists' rights, terming the move as unfair.
"The court has run an injunction, pending the determination of the matter," he told our newsdesk.
The court's directive came 17 days after Standard Group issued its staff with a salary reduction memo citing tough economic times following the Covid-19 pandemic that had disrupted the business environment in the country.
The media house documented that employees earning above Ksh100,000 would get a 25% reduction while those earning below Ksh100,000 would get a 20% reduction in salaries effective April 1, 2020.
Similarly, Royal Media Services and Radio Africa also instituted salary cuts for their employees.
All media houses have cited shrinking revenues with advertising departments particularly taking a hit during the Covid-19 period.
They all maintained that wage cuts were part of a raft of cost-cutting measures being implemented to ensure the organizations stay afloat.
