BY GLORIA USMAN, ABUJA – Tired of the Federal Government’s inaction over their worsening conditions of service, poor remuneration and welfare package, staffers of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) nationwide on Thursday down tools thereby paralyzing activities of the news hub organisation.
The protest marks a 3-day warning strike within which the government is expected to act over the poor and slave wages being paid the staff.
Members of staff of NAN trooped out in their numbers on Thursday morning carrying different placards with various inscriptions to press home their demands as well as sought for better conditions of service.
At the agency’s headquarters situated in the Central Business District of Abuja, staffers defy the heavy presence of stern-looking police officers who tried to disperse the protesting staff.
In a statement signed by the chairmen of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), AUCPTRE and RATTAWU chapter of the NAN, namely Yetunde Bada, Suleiman Haruna and Daniel Akphiare respectively, the workers’ unions appealed to the Federal Government and management of the agency to look into their plights and improve their conditions of their service which they stressed is not commensurate with the level of enormous work put in by the staff.
The statement reads in part; “Media plays a key role in building societies, checkmating inefficiencies and building bridges between the masses and government but these roles are hampered by poor pay and unsavoury conditions of service.
“The situation in NAN is so dire that the moral of staff is low; there is a lackadaisical attitude to work and most staff are indebted to one bank, microfinance or cooperative societies just to make ends meet in spite of adjusting lifestyles to the pervading situation in the country.”
The unions said that their demands are not unreasonable but in tandem with stipulated conditions of service
Accordingly, the staffers want the following addressed; “”The conditions of service in use in NAN is 16 years old and its content is obsolete; the public service rules allows MDAs to review these conditions every 5 years.
“The stipend of N5,000 paid monthly to editorial and marketing staff to augment transportation is now 48 months overdue. All privileges relating to bus drop-offs of reporters at assignment venues have been cancelled.
“Payment of promotion arrears for 2012 and 2017 and the shortfall in payment of promotion arrears of 2014, 2015 and 2016 that the Federal Government magnanimously released funds to civil servants is filled with stories in NAN as it was allegedly computed wrongly.
“The step differences that were to be paid staff was also wrongly computed.
“Staff of foreign offices that returned to the country are still being owed; some of them returned more than 8yrs ago.
“In lieu of first 28 days hotel accommodation due for staff from 2010 is still pending.
“Drivers are being owed arrears of overtime for more than three years.
“Staff that were invited from their base to write promotion exams in Abuja and Lagos were paid pittance without recourse to how they would feed or lodge.
“Training of staff to enhance efficiency and effectiveness”.
The Union leaders stressed that members of staff of NAN are not lazy but very hardworking, adding however that production is dropping daily owing to the fact that hope is gradually fading from the horizon.
The Unions therefore appealed to the Federal Government for better funding of the Agency and to intervene on their demands to enable staff return to work as soon as practicable.
