Human Rights Activist Issues THISDAY 7-day Ultimatum to Pay Outstanding Entitlements of Ex-Staff

A human rights activist, and Director at Citizens Advocacy for Social and
Economic Rights (CASER), Barrister, Frank Tietie, on Monday gave the
management of THISDAY newspaper seven days notice within which to pay its
former staff outstanding salaries, entitlements and remit pension deducted
from their salaries over the years.

Addressing a cross section of the media over its initial call for a state
of emergency in the country’s private media following formal complaints
from former staff of THISDAY of long unpaid salaries, entitlements and
pension remittances in Abuja, he said CASER’s intervention is based on the
fact that former staff who have retired disengaged are being owed salary
arrears.

The lawyer said: “CASER therefore issues to the management of the Company
a seven days notice that unless the salary arrears together with
entitlements and unremitted pension deductions are paid within the same
period, it shall on behalf of the former workers cause the institution of
various legal proceedings against THISDAY Newspaper Ltd, which would
include but not limited to the liquidation company to ensure that the
salary arrears, entitlements and pension deductions are paid.

He expressed confidence that this citizens protection demand notice would
be taken seriously and therefore acted upon with the urgency that it
deserves, adding that as a matter of law, every Nigerian citizen under the
international covenant of economic social and cultural rights to which
Nigeria is a signatory every Nigerian citizen has the right to work and
when you work you are also entitled to be paid.

According to him, the injustice being done to the workers of Nigerian
private media is what CASER is addressing, stressing: “It is not only for
those persons who are currently retired unjustly or owed unjustly, and for
those who are in the service of these media houses. CASER maintained that
the culture of failing to pay gratuities to media worker is a direct
subversion or threat to Nigerian democracy and we will do everything
possible to support these troubled, suffering deprived former staff of
THISDAY with every form of support that we can muster to ensure that they
get their entitlement.

“We have observed that the welfare of media workers in the country is in
disarray and this constitute a threat to proper news gathering and
production and ultimately a threat to the sustenance of democracy because
section 22 of the Constitution which imposes a constitutional duty on the
journalists to report news in such a manner that it will hold government
accountable to the people will be defeated if a journalist can no longer
holds its ground by being independent but now practices journalism based
on stomach infrastructure.”

According to him, “a practicing journalist is now driven by who gives him
money to determine what he publishes and it is a threat to democracy and
an affront to the rights of the citizens to fair reporting. Therefore,
when we sounded that alarm workers of THISDAY informed us of the state of
affairs in that company noting that they are being owed salary arrears,
pension funds and entitlements that were deducted but not remitted to
their Retirement Saving Accounts (RSA).

They have now retired and there is nothing to fall back on, salaries and
arrears and entitlements are being owed. Pension deduction they don’t have
or is it crime to be a journalist?”, he asked.

The media, Titie said, is currently faced with threat of extinction and we
want to use the current non-payment of pension, due entitlements and
arrears as a starting point in redeeming the constitutional place of the
media in the country.

“We are starting with the insistence that these entitlements be paid or
else we would invoke the provision of the Nigerian law which will lead to
the liquidation of these companies their properties, cars and whatever
they have will then be sold and the monies used to pay these workers and
then every media houses will become serious,” he said.