Skip to main content

THISDAY sacks 76 workers

Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher, THISDAY Newspapers Group

Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher, THISDAY Newspapers Group

*As staff demand payment of salary arrears

After owing staff salaries ranging from 10 to 17 months, THISDAY Newspapers Limited has sacked 76 workers.

The workers were sacked on Monday in a bid by the troubled newspaper outfit to navigate through the biting economic recession in the country.

THISDAY staff are being owed months of salaries even while the company is making billions of naira through advertising, special projects and others annually.

The newspaper outfit is owned by Nduka Obaigbena, a shrewd business man who was fingered in the $2.1 billion arms scandal, but had to return some millions before being left off the hook.

The sacked staff have not been paid their arrears of salaries and had been laid off with nothing to fall back on.
Some staff said they were being owed 11 months, others 17 months. Some claimed that they only received salary only once this year.

Some editors of the newspaper are being owed between 15 and 17 months unpaid salary arrears.

THISDAY sources said staff of the company were suffering seriously in the midst of plenty as a result of bad management.

Series of protests and strikes in the company had sometimes forced the management to pay one month or few months of outstanding salaries after which the status quo remains.

On some few occasions this year, staff had shutdown the company due to months of unpaid salaries while the company had gone to call the police from Area ‘B’ Command, Apapa to disrupt the protests.

Journalists under the employ of the company have lamented that the management has always deducted from source their Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS and never remit such deduction to the Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs.

Since 2009, workers’ CPS have not been remitted to the PFAs, painting a bleak future for the journalists under THISDAY employ.

Last year, Obaigbena ordered the sack 13 key staff in the Abuja office for demanding the payment of their arrears of salaries being owed them.

The staff had to threaten the management of the company to pay them their arrears and CPS or they would take legal action and exposed the ills of the company to the outside world. The threat forced the management to recall the affected staff for peace to reign.

It was also gathered that THISDAY is planning to convert all editorial staff to freelance journalists beginning from January 2017, a move that is likely to create turbulence in the company.

In the midst of unpaid salary arrears, Obaigbena was said to have purchased a brand new Rolls-Royce car worth N120 million this year, a decision that got staff angry and fed up with the unwholesome system.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDLEA arrests 252 suspects, seizes 3,073 kg Indian hemp

NDLEA operatives The NDLEA in Niger on Monday said that it had arrested 252 suspects and seized 3,073.9 kilogramme of Indian hemp(cannabis sativa) in the state. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Joseph Iweajunwa, who disclosed this in Minna, said that the operations were carried out between January and September. “Our operations in Niger State from January to September 2016 led to the arrest of 252 suspects and seizure of 3,073.997 kilogramme of cannabis sativa,’’ he said. Iweajunwa said that within the period, the agency also seized 1, 530 litres of liquid drugs, especially cough syrup with codeine. He said the NDLEA also counselled and rehabilitated 90 drug addicts in the state within the period under review. The agency, he added, secured convictions of only nine of the suspects because the judge at the Federal High Court, Minna, went on leave. “ Now that the judge has resumed more suspects will be tried,’’ he said. He advised motorists, especially commercial vehicle dri...
Post a Comment
Read more