KTN Journalists Stage Go Slow Over 3-Month Salary Arrears

Standard Group Newsroom
A photo of an empty Standard Group PLC Newsroom.
Boxraft Limited

Journalists attached to the Standard Group Limited (SGL) - which houses KTN News and a slate of radio outlets - kicked off strike over a 3-month salary delay.

According to the journalists who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, Standard Group's converged newsroom was almost empty at a time when the media house should have been fully packed.

A journalist who also shared a photo of the empty newsroom, revealed that the giant legacy media house failed to pay staff as promised in December 2022.

He further noted that some of the workers were only given a complimentary payment of Ksh15,000 during the holiday season - a rate below their monthly pay.

The Standard Media Group Mombasa Road Offices . Thursday, October 14, 2019.
The Standard Media Group Mombasa Road Offices . Thursday, October 14, 2019
Simon Kiragu
Kenyans.co.ke

"The company owes us three months' salary, yet we only got Ksh15,000 over the December holiday period," he lamented.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) Secretary General Charles Eric Oduor confirmed that the union will be meeting the management of Standard Group PLC on Tuesday, January 10, to iron out the issue.

"If the journalists have gone on strike, that is their own making. KUJ will give directions next week after meeting the leadership of Standard Group," Oduor confirmed. 

Towards the end of December, the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) had threatened an industrial strike should the non-payment persist. 

On Friday, December 30, KUJ warned Standard Group Limited against illegal decisions that grossly affected their members at the media house. 

KUJ asked SGL to consider reaching out to the union in order to solve issues that were obviously going to cripple operations. 

"Standard Group PLC used dubious means to remove its staff from the union in order to exploit them," KUJ explained. 

Through KUJ, Standard Group Journalists asked the employer to pay their three months' salary arrears.

At the same time, the Journalists wanted Standard Group to stop using the effects of the pandemic as a smokescreen to continue failing to meet its end of the bargain.

While re-affirming the position of the Journalists, KUJ noted that Standard Group failed to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement entered between them and the staff.

"The workers have been deprived of dignity, especially during this festive season where families enjoy the fruit of their hard labour,” read part of the statement. 

Through 2023, the company publicly expressed concerns over its financial capability and announced mass layoffs of a section of its staff.

Standard Group PLC's management is yet to respond to the demands that were fronted by its employees. 

Standard Group PLC Newsroom
A photo of a converged newsroom at Standard Group Centre.
The Standard
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