Times of Zambia Printpak

By MacPherson Mukuka

Government says there is need to follow rules and channels in everything any organisation does whenever they want to engage Government.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Beit Mushala told the Breakfast show in that the request made by Zambia Union of Journalist to Government to bail out Times Printpak should come from Company Management through the Board.

He said, the Board is more informed of the operations of the company unlike the Union who are just workers in this case.

Mr. Mushala added that at one point, Government even hard a meeting with the workers, in Ndola where made a call to work hard in terms of raising funds for the company.

This comes in the wake of the call by The Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) on the Government to bail out Times Printpak Zambia Limited and save the nearly 170 unionised workers from the current hardships.

Currently, the ZUJ draws its membership from the Zambia Daily Mail, the Zambia Printing Company and the Times Printpak Zambia Limited, the publisher of Times of Zambia and the Sunday Times of Zambia newspapers.

And the Union has challenged the board of directors at the Zambia Daily Mail to expedite the recruitment of the Managing Director at the public media house.

ZUJ President James Muyanwa said the unionised employees at Times Printpak, the publisher of Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia newspapers, have suffered long enough and deserve a bail-out package.

“Our members at Times Printpak Zambia Limited have suffered for a long time now. The workers have been getting their salaries late for about four years now. For instance, currently they are in two-month salary arrears, and have literally been surviving by the grace of God,” he said.

Mr Muyanwa suggested that through its subvention, the government should take up the repayment of which the company contracted for the purchase of a printing machine and the payment of retirees’ terminal benefits which are taking up most of the monthly revenue for the company.