Activities at the Lagos State broadcasting stations were paralysed yesterday, as the workers protested non-implementation of the N80,000 approved minimum wage.
The aggrieved employees on a three-day warning strike over the unpaid minimum wage are workers of the Lagos Television (LTV), Radio Lagos, Eko FM and Traffic FM.
The protesters decried the government’s failure to implement the minimum wage, which had been paid to other employees since December 2024.
They converged on the main entrance gate as early as 7.00 a.m., preventing customers and others from gaining entry into the premises. But few hours later, the marchers opened the pedestrian gate and went inside to allow for free flow of traffic outside the gate.
The protesting workers brandished placards with different inscriptions, with some reading: “All we need is Oracle, Save Our today and Secure Our Future”, “Non-implementation of minimum wage is anti-labour”, “Minimum wage, a must”, “Our sweat is drying up”, and “Give us Oracle, and take revenue generated.”
There was presence of police personnel in strategic points to ensure law and order.
Addressing newsmen, Chairman of Lagos State Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Chapel, Adeleye Ajayi, explained that the media workers were demanding fair treatment and wages for being at the centre of promoting government policies.
He said the NUJ and Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) had exhausted available avenues.
Ajayi noted that the demands include payment of the new minimum wage and inclusion in the state’s Oracle database for salary payment.
The state chapters of the NUJ and RATTAWU have shut down the Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation (LSBC).
CONSEQUENTLY, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) stormed LTV/Eko FM and Traffic Radio, ejecting the workers before shutting down operations.
The intervention was in response to the state government’s refusal to integrate the stations’ staff into the Oracle system and pay the long-due minimum wage.
The exercise followed a three-day warning strike by the workers, which had seen spirited protests earlier in the day.
No sooner had NUJ Lagos Chapel Chairman, Leye Ajayi, wrapped up his impassioned address to the aggrieved staff than NLC officials descended on the premises in Agidingbi, Ikeja.
Led by the State Chairman, Mrs Funmi Sessi, the NLC team marched into the buildings, halting broadcasts and ejecting the remaining workers.
“We are not fighting the Lagos State government,” Sessi declared, adding: “But we demand an immediate end to the injustice meted out to staff of these stations.”
She submitted that it was unfair for the government to neglect the people working in the broadcasting service, yet pay other workers in the state the new minimum wage.
