A number of journalists working for the People Daily and K24 media outlets that are owned by media company MediaMax have allegedly been locked out of their homes by their landlords due to non-payment of rent.
The non-payment of rent comes as pay delays at MediaMax deepen. This has prompted the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) to issue a strongly-worded letter in which the union has threatened that journalists working the media house will go on strike within 24-hours.
“We stand in solidarity with correspondents of The People Daily, a respected daily newspaper owned by the former first family, who have withdrawn their labour over non-payment of their dues for over 12 months,” KUJ Secretary General Eric Oduor said in the letter.
The letter appeared to suggest that the most affected category of workers is made up of correspondents, particularly for the media house’s newspaper division.
“The correspondents have been subjected to inhuman treatment and have lost their dignity due to inability to meet their financial obligations, yet they sweat every day to deliver stories to the newspaper for publication,” said Oduor.
“We are aware that some correspondents have been kicked out by their landlords over accumulated rent arrears, forcing them and their loved ones to spend nights either in office premises or on the streets as they have nowhere to call home.”
Oduor says a strike would come into force within twenty four hours if the workers’ pay issues are not resolved.
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“In view of the above, we are giving MediaMax Ltd 24 hours to address the concerns and negotiate a return-to-work formula with the correspondents, failure to which we will escalate the matter, including mobilizing all correspondents to storm and shut the offices of MediaMax located along Kijabe Street,” he said.