NAIROBI – Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo is currently meeting KBC board members and senior management as the clock ticks towards February 23 when the state broadcaster’s employees have called a general strike to press for reforms and better terms.
A source at KBC privy to communications between the government and the media house says managing director Waithaka Waihenya and head of radio Walter Mong’are, a.k.a. Nyambane, has also been invited to the meeting being held at Grey Studio, the biggest studio at KBC.
“We are yet to know the reasons,” the source said, who asked not to be named for far of reprisals, “but it is obviously about the strike.”
KBC staff and management hope Dr Ndemo will midwife a deal that will prevent a strike and save soaring of relations between the two parties. Today’s meeting is a follow-up of another board meeting held on Monday January 30 to try and forestall the impending strike being fronted by journalists and technical staff.
Disgruntled KBC staff plan to down tools on February 23 to press for full-scale reforms at the state broadcaster and better pay. The staff rejected a proposal to raise salaries by Sh10,000 or 40 per cent. The major issue was initially the poor working conditions at the taxpayer-financed broadcaster.
“We work with outdated equipment and even studio. We are not even given transport from work when you work late and the logistics here are terrible. Just some and have a look at our newsroom, walls and roofs are threatening to fall down.” According to a memorandum by the staff to the management, the company had resorted to victimising and intimidating those who raise concerns over working conditions and pay.
Sports journalist Milton Nyakundi, who was among the front-leaders of the strike, resigned last week after being transfereed from Nairobi to Kisumu bureau. Mr Vincent Lempaa, who used to report courts and a lead drafter of the memorandum, has been redeployed to the general news desk.
Part of the memorandum
: “As you may be aware, a memorandum was served to your office on the 6th day of December 2011 and so far no communication has been heard from your office. That instead of responding to the concerns raised by employees the management has resorted to victimisation and intimidation of those who are now deemed to have actively contributed in the raising of the genuine concerns As a result we the employees of the corporation would like to state as follows
“That the office of the Attorney General and that of the Commission for Implementation of the Constitution give their interpretation on the statutes of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation as recognised by article 34( 4) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. That the low salary in the corporation is partly attributable to a large number of employees who have no requisite certificates and who were brought in the Corporation through nepotism and or cronyism.
That the same law salaries has contributed in the corporation being a training ground therefore failing its obligation under article 230 (5) (b) of the constitution that calls public institution to attract people with requisite skills to discharge their mandate.
That if the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s managing director gets the same salaries and perks of office as managing directors of other government parastatals or department there is no reason why workers under him should not be paid like worker in those other parastatals That as a consequence the employees of the corporation would like the vetting of all the board members and employees of the corporation.”
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