There was a scare at Nation Media Group (NMG) last week after a section of employees received wrong salary amounts in their accounts, while others missed out completely.
In what is believed to be a mix-up in processing the payroll for correspondents and contributors, the payment system cut payments for some individuals and rewarded others with more than their fair share.
“I was shocked to receive my mobile banking alert with a funny figure when the salary hit my account. I was expecting Ksh50,000 but got only Ksh1,000,” an NMG journalist affected by the issue told BT. The hitch affected correspondents, who are paid by the 5th of every month. Permanent staff are paid between 24th and 27th.
The payment anomaly opened a can of worms at NMG head office, where emotions have been running high since the last retrenchment in December 2022, when big names were pushed out of TV and the newspaper departments.
NMG management remained indifferent over the issue, as most employees affected grumbled silently for fear of reprisals. “There’s a guy who went to ask about the issue and was told he is lucky to have a job,” said an insider. “So people have been waiting silently for the issue to be rectified. No one wants to protest.”
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It is not clear what went wrong, as no one was willing to comment on the matter, but it points to the payroll system running amok. As we published this, the issue was still pending and NMG’s HR department had issued an official update on the matter.
Interviews with those affected revealed that, they had been informed the issue will be sorted out by end month, where those who received less will get top ups, while those who got more will refund or have the money pushed to the next payment period.
Employees who rely on their salaries to meet their monthly financial obligations such as rent, food and transport are already feeling the pinch.
