The director of one of the biggest state owned printing presses in Algeria Abdul Qader Mashat is refusing to offer printing services to eight major newspapers in the country. According to Meshat these dailies have failed to pay for the printing services and are not committed to deadlines and schedule set by the print house. The state owned printing Press Al Wasat is one of the major printing operations in Algeria and prints more than 20 newspapers in the country.
The decision will affect some of the major dailies including; Al Adjwaa” , Algerian News, Adjwaa Al Riyadia, IT Mag , Al Hurriya, La Nation, Al-Waseet Al-Magharibi, and Al-Fajer.
Following the closure of these newspapers the journalists who lost their jobs are now finding themselves in a precarious situation. With the absence of strong press unions and syndicates they don’t have any strong trade formation to rely on either.
For his part director of “Bab Al Zooar” another state run printing house defended the decision of Al Wasat and said governmental establishments have also an obligation to deliver a healthy balance sheet.
The newspapers who are not committed to the payment schedule will not be able to continue receiving printing services.
