The strike embarked upon by workers of the Nigerian government-owned media organisations entered its second week yesterday without a solution in sight to the issues that precipitated the crisis.
The media workers, under the aegis of Radio Television Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) and The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), embarked on the strike last week to protest the non-payment of two years of their ‘monetization allowance’, amounting to about 70 billion naira, by the government (US$1=140 Naira). Several appeals by Information Minister Dora Akunyili to the workers to return to their duties have fallen on deaf ears, as the workers rejected the part payment of the allowances.
Since the strike started, all national broadcasters, including the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the external broadcasting service Voice of Nigeria (VON) have been providing only skeletal services. Also affected by the strike is the nation’s sole wire service, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
(Source: PANA via Afrique en Ligne)
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on Jul 16th, 2009 at 13:01
This strike has now ended. I have confirmed this with the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
D