Some of the journalists recently sacked by Standard Group are giving a new meaning to the phrase “desperate times call for desperate measures” by seeking re-employment under new but lower terms.
The last group of journalists who were declared redundant left last Friday with their payment expected to be wired into their accounts this week. But some reporters are already cutting deals to go back to the Daniel arap Moi-owned media house, putting the Kenya Union of Journalists, which is piecing together a case against the Standard on their behalf, in an awkward position.
So far, a business reporter, a political writer and a features writer have already made a comeback. Under the new terms, the three, who are to be joined by others in the process of signing the deal, will work as correspondents, and their monthly pay will be determined by their output.
“It is shameful that journalists would appear this desperate. Now, their lives will depend on a mean secretary who will measure their published stories with a ruler. It is pathetic,” a former senior editor said.
Most media houses, particularly the Nation Media Group, prefer hiring journalists as correspondents than staff writers because the former provide cheap labour. Apart from a retainer of about Ksh15,000 and earnings from contributions, correspondents enjoy no other perquisites from their employers such as medical care, pension or concessionary loans. However, most of Standard Group’s journalists who were sacked were permanent and pensionable, which overstretched its payroll.
But even with the under-the-table dealings between the “correspondents” and Standard Group, KUJ says the case against Standard is on course. “Our lawyer is ready to go,” said a KUJ official. “We are just setting out strategic issues.”
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