A sit-in protest slated for Monday 8th, July, 2013 is looming at the Times of Zambia to pressure government to help the state owned public media settle the three months non- payment of salaries.
The unionised workers at Times of Zambia have not been paid their monthly salaries for three months from April to June 2013.
The decision to stage a sit-in-protest follows a meeting held in Ndola where management and unionised members resolved to take the action next week.
The members unanimously resolved to take a go-slow with the view to seek government intervention in their plight adding that some of the workers have since been evicted from their houses due to non-payment of house rentals and also non-payment of utility bills such as water, electricity and even school fees for their school going children.
This is contained in a press statement signed by Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today.
The statement further states that the members resolved that the situation has continued to drag on for some time now and they feel withdrawing their labour would be the best answer to addressing the problem.
“Chapel executive committee officials explained the outcome of the meeting but the unionised members felt that things were not improving at Times of Zambia despite assurances from government and management.
“We unionised workers at the company have unanimously resolved to stage a sit-in protest on July 8th, 2013 to pressure government to address the situation because we have gone without being paid our monthly salaries for three months now,” the statement reads in part.
The unionised members however, have pledged to stand by the Union leadership as the only way to ensure that the firm is prevented from total collapse.
ZANIS
Government please pay them…desperation na njala can make dog to eat dog… these people need to be well looked after for them to be professional, otherwise they will be telling mores lies in their reporting worst than they are doing at the moment
The government has overrun its budget.These are the signs.But not to worry for any MP wanting to defect to PF there is enough money for by elections.
Mbiji. This has nothing to do with government! What happens to the money they collect from sale of newspapers? This is plain and simple poor management at Times of Zambia. I bet you they have recently bought new expensive 4×4’s for management and depleted their reserves. If government funds them I can assure you they will never ever bite the finger that feeds them. Hence we will never have independent media
Less money in their pockets
Close the Newspaper, it’s obsolete!
It suits them fine. They should realize that being a PF vuvuzela can not improve sales of their paper. PF is not an eye catching headline anymore. This happens when you throw away professionalism in preference of bootlicking.
Excellent points Tornado.
There’s always a cost to foolishness!
There’s always a cost to foolishness. You voted for PF and continue to support them!
That’s right, Tornado…next is the Post…
When realistic people say “The Zambian Govt is broke”, Sata says we have $2.4b dollars in the reserves and the economy is thriving. Meanwhile, Teachers are threatening strikes, FRA transporters across the country have not been paid this year. Times of Zambia are next in the queue and many more will follow. Creating districts off the cuff, inducing by elections and bloated cabinets with countless deputy ministers costs money.
You do realize a nations Reserves can not be tapped into monga ni irrigation canal ya luangwa, Zambezi and kafue river? They problem is the 100 to 200 % wage increment that public servants got. it was not budgetted for.
@mwanawakwitu
this not about increments,,, about failure to pay `normal` salaries for 3months…
3 months no pay I bet the board is getting paid its allowances….just privatise these some of these two papers like you promised, gov’t has no business in running media in this day and age!!
They need to diversify their publication. Have an World Wide Web edition with advertisements, and also your traditional paper. Is it that difficult sure to brain storm.
It is the product i.e the content which they are selling that is the problem. Who would want to visit a website let alone buy a paper with a screaming headline like ‘Chief Kabila Praises PF Government?’
3 months no pay I bet the board is getting paid its allowances….just privatise these two papers like you promised, gov’t has no business in running media in this day and age!!
Pf power failure or poverty forever
ok
BA malama you told us you will turn things around. The second time at tppz you are still a failure shame. You Carder kandile
where is the money they removed from subsidies? and they launched ministers to preach the gospel and you guys (times and daily mail ) plus znbc you vuvuzeladi, see what you get now, the worst is yet to come
So you want that money to be used to pay Times of Zambia journalists? Try to think please twapapata!!!!!
How can the brainless Shamenda be condemning KCM for laying off people? Does he want them to be like Times of Zambia employees – working for nothing? This is what happens when you elect people who have undergone lobotomies.
3 months is a long time to go without your salary unexpectedly. You don’t pay your workers, you can’t expect their loyalty or effort.
I can imagine their current workday – go to work just in case there’s a resolution, and then spend the time being as unproductive as you possibly can without being fired.
We may have reserves but they are not the same as the government’s budget. It is just ignorance at work. Sata is a very ignorant loud mouth, and parliament and cabinet are weak. That is the problem. We need to empower MPs. They should not easily lose their seats just because they stand up to their party. Instead of losing their seats, they should be allowed to continue as independents and should not be allowed to switch parties. They should also be disqualified from taking up government posts. This will not only make them more powerful but would also stop bye-elections.
Times of zambia,Zamtel,Zambia Railways,Zambia Airways…..endless catalogue of ruin.When will zambians ever run an efficient,profitable and growing business especially the ones tied to GRZ?
When you appoint CEO without interviews what do you expect? Eat the cake
Times of Zambia is in business to make a profit. To keep a big number for a sack of keeping workers in employment is very unhealthy. This is the result of this kind of behavior. Now the government should come to a rescue of the workers immediately. This is unproductive situation. Tax payers money will now go to workers who are suppose to be paid by Times of Zambia.
Typical of majority Zambians. Can’t stand alone .No entreprenuer minds . Even if u had angels as leaders Zambins u will still fail, even crucifying them.Times of Zambia,is it not a business ?l expect a business 2 sustain itself.lf not sell it we!
This is “Don’t Kubeba” maxim Times of Zambia has pride to vuvuzela PF Sata’s deception to the nation. Ask PF SATA to pay your salaries and further vuvuzela in your paper about more money in your pockets.
We warned you that PF govt has nothing to do with improving people’s lives and you responded with spa-raging remarks likening anyone opposing PF Sata as thieves. MMD left reserves in BOZ and SATA first increased his pay by 200% and hallucinated a scheme to trigger by-elections and colossal un budgeted projects resulting in the nation run out of cash——hence your unpaid salaries.
We can mobilize finance for your unpaid salaries as long as you and PF SATA admit FAILURE to effectively govern the nation.
I take it senior management have not missed a months pay. This is failure by both the Managing Editor of Times of Zambia and his boss the Chief Executive (Permanent Secretary of Ministry Of information and blah blah blah), as he would have been very much aware of this short comings. Pay the staff immediately as hundreds if not thousands of families and their extended families are at risk of starvation. Shameful
The irony of this kind of Public Service. They now criticize the Government they so readily praise. I won’t judge their integrity now but, shouldn’t they understand that tough as their
situation is, their counterparts in the Private
media also face hardships? I never begrudge anyone a pay increase but it must be always be considered in the light of what “other” workers face. So if the Times of Zambia want my support, let them say that Private sector media personnel deserve better treatment also & that they will support MISA to raise wages for all media professionals.
Endless meetings without any resolve very dull chief executive. Even management staff have not been paid for 4 months now. Casuals are just slaves. They have gone without pay for months. But what management staff do is make unnecessary travels to make money. Ala tavutika mwandi mwee
CLOSE IT WHAT VALUE ADD DOES TIMES OF ZAMBIA OFFER ZAMBIAN PEOPLE?? THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED THE QUALITY OF PAPER AND WHY ARE THEY DEPENDENT ON THE GOVERNMENT. NO INNOVATION, NO IMPROVEMENTS. SAME OLD MA RUBBISH OF BEING PUPPETS TO THE GOVERNMENT IN POWER. SHUT THEM DOWN.
SOLUTION: Times, sell NEWS consumers want to buy.
Some of the reasoning on this blog is unbelievable. I one vain you say that state owned media should be independent and in another you say government is broke that is why they are not bailing out ToZ. This is a daily publication that makes money everyday and does not remit any of it’s earnings to GRZ, though GRZ still has strategic overview of the paper. The problem here is with ToZ management and no one else so let them sort it out on their own. Let them get their priorities right read the external environment and be innovative.
Ke ke ke ke ke ke whaaaaa! Kanshi ni “TIMES OF HUNGER”!
ha ha ha ha …ni Times of Dont kubeba…
stupid workers, that what you get for supporting a non performing govt, your pares do not sell hence you have no business to sustain your operations apart from report lies in favour of the most stupid ***** sata. CONTINUE SUFFERING, IAM NOT SUFFERING
Start writin investigative and negative stories about Zambia then we shall start buying your paper and you shall make enough money to pay yourselves
You have a valid point i wish they will read this coz it has really costed them i no longer buy Times because of their failure to cover real issues but they keep on praising Poor Fools
But National Housing Authority is also not been paid
Solution: privatise all public media companies, abolish ministry of mis-information and suck minister of disinformation…and begin selling information…
Times is no longer Saleable. change the content. Malimpenga stop threatening others, just preside over the team which sees to it that these people are paid in real time. Times of Zambia re-engineer yourselves if you are to survive in the modern times.