From Markus Ajeyet, Kaduna
Workers of New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) have cried out to chairman, Northern States Governors Forum and Plateau state Gov. Simon Lalong to pay staff of the organization their accumulated salaries to save them from untold hardship they are going through.
A joint press statement signed by Comrade Friday Idoko, Funmi Aderinto, Usman Nasidi and Emmanuel Bello as Chairmen and Secretaries of the in-house unions decried the slow pace of process initiated in 2017 to sell assets of the company in order to pay off salary arrears of staff.
The statement noted that following the delay process, many of the workers have died awaiting their unpaid wages owed by the Northern State Governors while those working are facing all manners of embarrassment from landlords, lacking of feeding and unable to pay their children’s school fees.
According to the statement, some money had been realized from sales of the company’s property, appealing to the Plateau state governor, as the chairman of the Northern governors forum to promptly order disbursement of the sum to workers of the company to alleviate the hardship they have been subjected to.
The statement however commended efforts of the Northern Governors for ensuring the payment of the company’s pensioners who had worked under the federal government .
“The Joint Workers’ Union of New Nigerian Newspapers in its Congress held on Tuesday, 25th October, 2022 is appealing to the Chairman of Northern State Governors Forum (NSGF), His Excellency, Governor Simon Bako Lalong to expedite action on the settlement of workers entitlements to save them of the present predicaments they have found themselves,” the statement explained.
The joint union comprising of members of Nigeria Union Of Journalists (NUJ) and National Union Of Printing , Publishing and Paper Products Union Workers ( NUPPPROW ) New Nigerian Chapel expressed worries over workers plights due to non-payment of salaries for many years, saying that it has led to depression and deaths of over 103 staff awaiting their entitlements.
According to the statement, “We are appealing to Governor Simon Lalong as a compassionate leader and head of Northern States Governors’ Forum to use his good office to put smiles on our faces and those of our families by ordering a prompt payment from the available resources realized from sales of the company’s property in order to give hope of survival and our children.”
The workers explained that they have been through a lot of hardship with many of their compatriots been ejected by their landlords as many could no longer pay their childrens’ school fees, lamenting that many have died due to one form of ailment or the other as a result of economic bottlenecks they are facing due to the inability to get their payments.
According to the statement, the workers stated that they have so much confidence in the effective leadership of the Northern States Governors to built on selflessness, passion to serve and commitment to welfare of their subjects.
The statement believed that itt is their collective conviction that their appeal would receive the attention it deserves for prompt payment of their entitlements.
