President Uhuru Kenyatta suffered a major blow on Wednesday after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that Mediamax staff should not be subjected to the the punitive 50% pay cut that had been laid out by the company.
The media house which is largely owned by the Kenyatta family had announced a shocking 50% pay cut to it’s employees in March blaming negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mediamax employees who include K24 and People Daily staff have been working for the last 3 months without salary, which prompted the resignation of star TV Queen Betty Kyalo who is now running her own enterprise.
Further, the Labour relations court has also ordered that the impending redundancies which are set to be done next week, be done within the law. Meaning that staff dues be paid immediately and in full, contrary to Mediamax threats of paying dues staggered over a period of one year.
Following the court order, the Mediamax staff will now be paid their March, April and May salaries in full since the court has dismissed the pay cut proposal. The staff who have still been rendering their services in spite of lack of pay for the three months have termed the ruling as a ‘big win’ and demanded that the company’s CEO, who they have termed as the biggest obstacle to the company’s prosperity, obey the court.
The company had proposed a 50% pay cut without consulting it’s employees, leading to the court case that was filed by a section of employees.
The court ruling is a blow to Mediamax CEO Ken Ngaruiya who has been accused of high-handedness and arrogance. The company now has only two options; pay the staff their full pay and arrears or render their positions redundant with existing contracts.
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