Zambia editors locked in newsroom in pay dispute

LUSAKA – Journalists at the state-owned Times of Zambia newspaper last Thursday locked editors in the newsroom following a strike arising from a pay dispute, sources and a union official said last Thursday.

Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president Isabel Chimangeni said 300 journalists and support staff went on strike last Wednesday demanding a pay rise of $246 in a bid to bridge the salary gap between unionised employees and management. A senior reporter at the Times of Zambia told Reuters the employees had locked gates to the premises of the newspaper after editors reported for work.”We have locked the (editors) in the offices and police came to try and intimidate us, but we refused to be cowed and the police left,” the journalist said on condition of anonymity.There was no immediate comment from management.Nampa-ReutersA senior reporter at the Times of Zambia told Reuters the employees had locked gates to the premises of the newspaper after editors reported for work.”We have locked the (editors) in the offices and police came to try and intimidate us, but we refused to be cowed and the police left,” the journalist said on condition of anonymity.There was no immediate comment from management.Nampa-Reuters