20101122
africanews

Media workers under the Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ and the Radio , Television and Theatre Workers Union, RATTAWU on Monday began a three day warning strike aimed at forcing the federal government to implement a new media salary structure for media workers under its employ.

The strike started a day after striking doctors in Lagos state called off their four months industrial action over pay and condition of service.

AfricaNews' correspondent in Lagaos, Nigeria, had an exclusive interview with the head of the News Agency of Nigeria Chapter of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Dele Akinsola who spoke on the strike action and the main issues surrounding it.

AfricaNews: Sir, can you tell us how effective the strike has been?

Akinsola: As it is the FRCN network, the News Agency of Nigeria and NTA are off the air, if par adventure, the management staff are been force to put on skeletal service, it’s not as effective as when the core reporters are on duty.

This is the first day, by tomorrow we will be able to assess the impact, but for now all our members have stayed away and no work is taken place, the only reports they can be using now, are the reports may be the reporters have file at the weekend, so if you listen to even private radio stations who rely on reports from maybe News Agency of Nigeria or reports from FRCN, they have stopped. They keep repeating the news they carried yesterday and so no fresh news is on air.

I believe the government should have a rethink and then be faithful to the agreement they have reached with us on this minimum wage thing, that's on media salary structure.

AfricaNews: Can you give us an idea of what the minimum wage for the media workers would be when implemented?

Akinsola: There is a table that is presented to the government, because it is a committee set up by the honorable Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili, headed by the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, and so the table is a comparative one which shows that Nigeria is paying the lowest to its journalists in West African sub region for example. So it becomes scandalous for Nigeria that has the enormous wealth to underpay her media professionals. When the report was turned in, the government felt its a far cry from what our colleagues in other climes are earning.

So for now, its[salary] going to be at par with what obtains in the medical field, may be the teaching profession, for example ASSU [Academic Staff Union of Universities] and all of that, so we are not inferior to them, we should earn as much as they earn, so that’s the point we are making. It’s not that we are asking that the media salary structure should be the highest in the land, no; it’s going to be at par with the medical profession and other professions too.

AfricaNews: If at the end of the day, there is no concrete result from government, what would be the next action?

Akinsola: If after three days, the government fails to accede to our demands, then we will declare an indefinite strike action.

We will give them a notice and then we declare that we are not going to work until that is done, because, if the same government has recently approved this year, the consolidated medical salary structure and they have also approved for teachers, so why wouldn't they approve for media professionals? So after this three days warning strike, we will declare an indefinite strike.