By Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
October 28, 2015 – Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State chapter, today laid siege on the premises of Independent Nigeria Limited(INL), publishers of Daily Independent Newspaper in continuation of the daily protest to prevail on management to pay staff 25-months salary arrears.
Led by its chairman, Mr. Deji Elumoye, the journalists expressed their misgiving about management of the newspaper and its refusal to bulge two weeks after staff embarked on daily protest, shutting the newspaper out of print.
Some of the inscriptions on the ply cards read “Workers deserve entitlements; EFCC must arrest Ted over fraud; Pay our 25 months salary arrears and Ted Iwere must go“ among others.
Elumoye said that there is no going back on demands of the union, adding that, if the owners of Daily Independent remained adamant the legal option would be explored.
He said that the union was not ready to negotiate with the Ted Iwere-led management which the staff are demanding must be sacked.
“We have called for the removal of the Ted Iwere led management. We would no longer take Iwere as the Managing Director and if they want us to negotiate, it is not with him.
“This place would be under lock and key because it is at the instance of the management and if they want to re-open, they have to look at all the issues at stake including the none payment of 25 months salaries.
“I cannot imagine the kind of inhumane management they have in Daily Independent.
“So, we would not allow them to re-open this place except they pay the salaries, they pay and remit to the necessary quarters all the check offs, the pension scheme deductions, tax deductions, the union deductions and retirement benefits,“ he said.
He said that the management was planning to close down the organization in order to dislodge the old staff they currently owed to recruit new set of staff in the future.
Elumoye said that the union would not allow the injustice, adding that, the rallies and picketing would continue and be sustained indefinitely until demands were met.
Also, Mr Kayode Ogunlade, Public Relations Officer of National Union of Production Publishing, Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW) whose members joined in the picketing said there was no going back.
“There is no management in Daily Independent, it is only Ted Iwere that has made himself the management, the board and running Daily Independent as a personal enterprise. “He has no regard for us, does not care about our welfare, we do not want him, he must go,“ he said.
