We shall mobilise to support sacked TVC staff-NAWOJ,RATTAWU,NUJ

The Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Radio, Television, Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria have spoken against Friday’s sack of 145 staff of Television Continental and Radio Continental. Reports Today.ng

The unions, in interviews with the

News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lagos, said due process was not followed in the exercise.

The unions said they would take this up with the management of the media organisations.

The Lagos NUJ Council Chairman, Deji Elumoye, told NAN that investigations had revealed that TVC had a lopsided remuneration system where a few expatriates and management staff earned more salaries than the entire workforce.

Elumoye said the sack was ill-timed.

According to him, the organisation was clocking 10 years and was supposed to be celebrating its anniversary.

He said: “We even have the case of an expatriate whose salary is more than half of the salaries of the entire workforce that has been sacked.

“I do not know why the company had that type of structure at the top, where an individual is earning more than what the 145 disengaged staff were earning.

“The sack came at a very wrong time when the media is going through a trying period and we believe the management did not get their priorities right.”

The NUJ council chairman said the method of disengagement did not comply with labour laws.

Elumoye explained that information available to the union showed that the staff were served letters after a long wait, without their severance packages.

He said: “We want to engage the management on why they were disengaged the staff without provision for their severance packages.

“It has been in the news for some time, the management ought to have worked on it and given them their cheques, compute their entitlements and also give it to them.

“To us, an injury to one is an injury to all and that is why we (the NUJ) will engage the management on why they should do this, especially when they are talking of their 10th anniversary.’’