ZNBC Workers Not Paid Since February

Employees at ZNBC have still not been paid their salaries for March, prompting the broadcasting union to threaten industrial action if workers’ demands are not met.

The Secretary General for the Zambia Union of Broadcasters and other Information Disseminators (ZUBID), Andrew Mpandamwike told reporters that if ZNBC did not pay their workers by Thursday employees would have no choice but to go on strike. 

Late salary payments have become a pattern for the broadcaster over the last couple months, with management now refusing to pay medical allowance despite an agreed contractual obligation. 

This is regardless of the fact that reporters at ZNBC are playing a vital role in distributing information regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Mpandamwike said the late payments had made staff feel demotivated and unappreciated. 

ZUBID has now appealed to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services to help resolve the financial challenges ZNBC is facing and to resolve the conflict over salaries. 

Zambia’s press is currently grappling with an existential threat. Last month the government suspended business relations with Prime TV over a disagreement in airing free coronavirus information adverts. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the government’s actions risked seeing Zambia “downgraded in terms of press freedom”.