Standard Media Group staff affiliated have issued a 14-day strike notice to the media outlet through the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ)
Standard Media Group employees from all departments have said that they will go on strike after enduring seven months without pay.
The strike notice was issued by KUJ secretary-general Eric Oduor on Tuesday, July 2.
“For seven months now, staff at the Standard Media Group, the oldest media house in Kenya, have gone through untold suffering due to unpaid salaries despite hard economic times in the countries
“The Kenya Union of Journalists therefore is demanding an immediate response to the following issues, failure to which we shall force total shut down of operations of Standard Group Limited,” Oduor said.
According to Oduor, the situation at the media house has deteriorated to the point where journalists are becoming depressed due to a lack of salary.
“Staff at the Standard Group have been pushed to sadness by the uncertainties surrounding the millions of shillings they invested and saved in Standard Sacco. The company has even defied a directive from Sacco’s regulator, Sasra, to prioritize this matter in its payment plan
“It has come to our attention that the workforce, who have since been driven over the cliff by an inattentive firm, have limited medical claims. This is unprecedented, and no one applies to be sick. As a result, the company cannot claim to regulate disease. The KUJ also attacked a new time policy being imposed at the Standard as punitive,” he added.
This comes days after Standard Media Group’s radio department threatened to go off air on July 3 if their salaries are not paid.
The journalists complained that they had not been paid for the months of June to August 2023 and February to June 2024.
The letter highlighted unpaid periods indicate that employees at the Standard Group’s radio department may have gone without pay for up to seven months.
“As you are aware, the subject of unpaid regular wage and rising arrears is urgent. As a department, we need to address this issue,” said the radio team’s journalists.
They urged in the letter that the media house pay their salaries in full for the month of June by July 2 and ensure 100% payment of monthly salaries going forward.
“With what is collected each month vis a vis what the salary burden is – let the amount be earmarked and kept aside to service salaries unfailingly,” the team of reporters said. They also stated that the media business shall pay 30% of the arrears each month until the payroll debts are paid up.
