The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Tuesday picketed the premises of ThisDay newspapers in Apapa, Lagos to protest the non-payment of nine months salary owed its members.
Leaders and Company, publishers of the newspaper, has also failed to remit personal income tax, pension cooperative deductions and check-off dues from paid salaries in the last four years.
Led by the NUJ Lagos State Chairman, Deji Elumoye, protesters carried placards and barricaded the entrances of the media organisation, owned by the President of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nduka Obaigbena.
Mr. Elumoye, who is also a staff of ThisDay, said he decided to lead the protest against his organisation to show that charity begins at home.
He said the protesting journalists were condemning the continuous refusal of the management of ThisDay and 12 other media houses to settle the arrears of salaries owed workers, especially journalists.
“I am an associate editor in ThisDay,” Elumoye said. “But, I chose to picket ThisDay first. There are other media organisations owing over two years, and we will go to all of them. It is time to put a stop to non-payment of salaries in media organisations. Many families cannot pay their house rents or their children’s school fees. The journalists are paid peanuts. Yet, they do not get the salaries. It is sad.”
Elumoye argued that Obaigbena, who is the president of NPAN, must lead by example and pay his workers all their dues.
He called on the National Pension Commission to prosecute media owners, who do not remit workers’ pension contributions to serve as deterrent to others.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also thrown its weight behind the action.
NLC Acting President, Peters Adeyemi, said “the picketing of ThisDay represents a bold and courageous response after all the processes of an amicable resolution had been exhausted,” the NLC said. “It also represents the beginning of a long process of engagement with other non-salary-paying media organizations.”
He listed other affected media houses to include the Africa Independent Television (AIT), which is owing about 17 months arrears; Independent Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Independent (nine months arrears), and Tell Magazine (eight months).
The others include the National Mirror and Newswatch Daily, both owned by Jimoh Ibrahim (seven months), The News/PM News (nine months); Daily Champion (18 months), Hallmark owned by Emeka Obasi (eight months) and Daily Times (six months).
