Herald Staff Protest Poor Working Condition

Herald Staff protesting

Workers of Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, publishers of The Herald Newspapers have staged a protest over what they described as poor working condition.

The aggrieved staff of the old state newspaper house also decried the poor condition of offices, the entire vicinity in which the media outfit is located as well as non-payment of accumulated allowances.

They were armed with placards with various inscriptions such as "Salary Discrepancies, Epileptic Production, Backlog of Promotions, Bad Working Environment and Non-payment of salaries" among others.

The angry staff under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products' Workers (NUPPPPROW) shutdown the entrance gate leading to the premises of the newspaper house in Ilorin, the state capital.

Speaking with Journalists, the NUPPPPROW Chairman in the media outfit, Comrade Abdulrasaq Ahmed, said the workers were protesting bad working environment and dilapidated state of infrastructure in the medium outfit.

He noted that staff of the newspaper have had to contend with poor working condition for almost nine years without any hope in sight.

The NUPPPPROW chairman stated that most staff used to take refuge under tree because of stuffy nature of the offices.

Ahmed also lamented epileptic production of the newspaper, saying that the newspaper, which used to be published four times in a week now struggle to come out once in a week.

He said the situation had rendered many able staff redundant as many of them.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mallam Mohammed Ishak Sabi, who addressed the aggrieved workers, called for calm, promising to table the grievances before the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed.

Sabi lauded The Herald newspapers workers for being civil and law abiding in their agitation.