Lament death of eleven workers
By Samuel Aruwan
Kaduna
Angry workers of New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) yesterday protested against non-payment of 30 months salaries and other entitlements which they said resulted to the death of eleven staff since the company was closed down in 2013.
The workers who stormed the premises of the closed company situated along Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna around 10am carrying placards bemoaned their situation and called for urgent attention.
The chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the company, Comrade Amos Matthew who addressed the press, said “It could be recalled that workers embarked on strike since February 2013, as a result of non-payment of salaries accruing to 30 months including other entitlements such as salary differences, leaf grants, gratuities, retrenched workers’ entitlements etc.
“In the heat of the above challenges, the New Nigerian Newspapers workforce led by its joint union after a convened congress resorted to the following resolutions, that; NNN Workers can no longer tolerate the dehumanized treatment meted on them by management and owners of the company, as a result of this ill-treatment several of our workers have lost their lives among who were Ibrahim Adamu, Gana Ibrahim, Istifanus Yanki, Wakili Maitunbi, Comfort Samuel, Iliya Yusuf, Mr. Ezekiel, Nuhu Dauda, Samuel Ayeni, Malam Zubairu and Jibrin Gulani to mention but a few.”
Matthew added that many workers of the company have been evicted from their rented apartments for their inability to pay for their rents, while the redundant management staffs are enjoying the comfort of the company’s quarters and that workers cannot longer afford school fees of their children.”
He also spoke on the shabby premises of the company, saying, “NNN workers seek the attention of patriotic Northerners to prevail on governors in a concerted effort to salvage Sardauna’s only surviving legacy and ameliorate the unpaid workforce and retirees. The Northern State Governors Forum had earlier directed the NNN Management to compute workers entitlements. Six months after computing workers entitlements, we are still expecting the response of the NGSF in this regard.
“Therefore NNN workers are calling on NSGF to expedite action on the report being at their disposal (which contains the workers’ entitlements computation and the property valuation) to determine which property to be disposed of that would be commensurate with the amount that would offset workers’ entitlements and revamp the company,” he said.
