Business / Companies
AMH Newspaper Group struggling to pay its workers
14 May 2014 at 17:29hrs | Views
struggling to pay its workersALPHA Media Holdings (AMH), owned by media entrepreneur Trevor Ncube, is allegedly struggling to pay its workers with staff claiming they only got half their salaries for April.
AMH owns Bulawayo-based Southern Eye newspaper which was intended to be a direct competition to the Zimpapers-run Chronicle.
At the end of last year, the media group asked journalists and other staff members who wanted to go on voluntary retrenchment to submit their names. The offer was reportedly oversubscribed forcing management to postpone the plan.
Problems at AMH have seen a number of senior reporters leaving the group.
Those who have left include former news editor Mernard Mafirakureva, who is now business editor at the Chronicle, Mellisa Mpofu, now entertainment editor also at the Bulawayo based Chronicle.
Godwin Muzari and Happiness Zengeni have since moved to the Herald where they are entertainment editor and business editor respectively.
The cash squeeze at AMH has also affected freelancers who used to be paid on the 10th of every month. Most only got their March payment last week on the 9th May.
The group also used to cover 75% of the workers' medical aid but that has since been reduced to 50% while allowances such as transport, housing and education are now considered a luxury and have been scrapped.
At end of February the AMH dissolved the Newsday, The Standard and Independent newsrooms and combined them into one in an effort to reduce operational costs.
The Daily News Group Editor Stanely Gama chided an unnamed competitor that was spared by Zanu-PF in 2003 and benefitted immensely from Daily News's absence in the market.
Gama said, "... needless to say, the unfriendly would-be-competitor that was spared by Zanu-PF in 2003 and benefitted immensely from our absence in the market, has had nothing but trouble all these three years that we have been back.
"Of course, we just don't feel that it's worth writing stories on their myriad of problems in our newspapers as they are so pettily wont to behave when they think they can take advantage of others' insignificant challenges."
One wonders if Gama was referring to the AMH Group.
Efforts to get comment from management proved unsuccessful Tuesday.
AMH owns Bulawayo-based Southern Eye newspaper which was intended to be a direct competition to the Zimpapers-run Chronicle.
At the end of last year, the media group asked journalists and other staff members who wanted to go on voluntary retrenchment to submit their names. The offer was reportedly oversubscribed forcing management to postpone the plan.
Problems at AMH have seen a number of senior reporters leaving the group.
Those who have left include former news editor Mernard Mafirakureva, who is now business editor at the Chronicle, Mellisa Mpofu, now entertainment editor also at the Bulawayo based Chronicle.
Godwin Muzari and Happiness Zengeni have since moved to the Herald where they are entertainment editor and business editor respectively.
The cash squeeze at AMH has also affected freelancers who used to be paid on the 10th of every month. Most only got their March payment last week on the 9th May.
At end of February the AMH dissolved the Newsday, The Standard and Independent newsrooms and combined them into one in an effort to reduce operational costs.
The Daily News Group Editor Stanely Gama chided an unnamed competitor that was spared by Zanu-PF in 2003 and benefitted immensely from Daily News's absence in the market.
Gama said, "... needless to say, the unfriendly would-be-competitor that was spared by Zanu-PF in 2003 and benefitted immensely from our absence in the market, has had nothing but trouble all these three years that we have been back.
"Of course, we just don't feel that it's worth writing stories on their myriad of problems in our newspapers as they are so pettily wont to behave when they think they can take advantage of others' insignificant challenges."
One wonders if Gama was referring to the AMH Group.
Efforts to get comment from management proved unsuccessful Tuesday.
Source - additional reporting from newzimbabwe
