KUJ calls for economic Freedom of Journalists as media Summit kicks off.
By Dickson Odhiambo
August 8, 2019.
KUJ calls for economic Freedom of Journalists
as media Summit kicks off.
THE Kenya Union of Journalists has
called upon the employers in the media industry to ensure Journalists working there
are economically empowered at their places of work.
The Union’s General Secretary Eric
Oduor says the focus and energy should be directed towards economic freedom of
Journalists working in different parts of the country.
Addressing participants during the
official opening of the National Media Summit in Nairobi today, Oduor said thousands
of contributors of content in media industry are not properly compensated for
their sweat yet they contribute to about 90 percent of the news.
“As we converge here today at the
second Kenya Media Summit, there are emerging issues that need urgent action to
support the country’s flourishing media industry. We cannot talk about media
freedom in isolation. The focus and energies should be directed towards economic
freedom of journalists,” Oduor says.
The Kenya Union of Journalists
Secretary General says the contributors toil the whole day, sometimes don’t
sleep to ensure that the public receive timely and accurate news.
He has said however the contributors
does the donkey’s work, their employers have chosen to turn a blind eye to
their welfare.
“Media just like other sectors must
guarantee descent jobs agenda, a campaign being spearheaded by the
International Labour Organisation, an agency of the United Nation. We must have
Jobs that are productive and
delivers a fair income, security in the workplace, social protection for
families and better prospects for personal development,” Oduor adds.
He said
this is well articulated in Sustainable Development Goal number 8 where the
whole world committed to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for
all, adding that the media cannot be left out in this campaign because
journalists too deserve decent jobs.
‘If we do not address labour as the
foundation of journalism in Kenya, we can as well forget about talking about
press freedoms. A journalist who has not been facilitated by his employer, a
journalist who has not been paid according to his qualification and efforts and
a journalist working without a formal contract with the employer is a threat to
press freedom,” Oduor further says.
The Union calls upon editors and
newsroom managers to urgently convene a meeting with it to thrash out these
issues before they get out of hand.
“I am saying this because when
oppression reaches certain limit, it breeds disruptions and this disruption
could be revolution in the industry,” the KUJ Secretary General adds.
He says experience have been in other countries where journalists decided
to down their tools just like other workers have done in this country to push
for better pay, adding that public only contemplate the consequences if they
wake up one day only to find journalists on the streets and newsrooms.
“The media must approach issues of
human rights and good governance with clean hands. We cannot and should not
purport to be advocates of rights yet media is the biggest culprit in violation
of rights,” he further adds.
The Union further say media houses in
this country have in recent past went on a redundancy spree to reduce staff
cost at the expose of quality, adding that while media houses gave different
reasons for such actions, the industry has been left bleeding.
“We urge advertisers and the
government to introduce a new rule for a media house to qualify for business
opportunity. This new rule should be based on staff welfare, which is not only
a labour right but a human right.
The union further says it is
immoral for media houses in the country to mint billions of shillings in
advertising revenue from the government but deny journalists their right,
adding that justice for journalists across the country is demanded.
ENDS:
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