LIFE AFTER GEJ: AIT Staff Threatens Suicide Because of Hunger

Life after GEJ has indeed become an economic hell for Raymond Dokpesi and his Daar Group. It has now become obvious that AIT has been secretly funded by the past administration hence the recent bankruptcy and inability to pay staff.

Few days ago, AIT workers resorted to publicly protesting and begging president Buhari to intervene and save them from imminent death due to hunger. The staff claim that the management have refused to pay their salary and alleged that the non-payment of salaries was a deliberate action from the management. The staff threatened suicide if nothing is done.

The eagleonline reports that the workers armed with placards with various anti-management slogans are fed up, the members of staff also expressed shock that the management had concluded plans to lay off some of the workers.

The protesting staff alleged that the management was prepared to replace permanent workers with contract appointments, adding that the steps were anti-labour law.

Daily Trust reports that one of the workers who pleaded anonymity claimed that the salary for August, 2014 was paid on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. He claimed that when the management paid any month’s salary, it would take another five months before another payment was made.

“There has been no communication or excuse whatsoever from management for non-payment of staff salary. When they pay for one month, it will take about four to five months before another payment will be made,”

“A lot of people have left the organisation due to this problem while more people are planning to leave; yet the management are not bothered.

“We feel the non-payment is deliberate because the money is there but we are not been paid.

“The non-payment is inflicting suffering on us because we have families that we cannot cater for, we find it difficult to feed, pay our children’s school fees, house rent and other utility bills,”

He called on the Nigerian Union of journalist and the federal government to look into the matter as it was fast becoming unbearable.

“We are really suffering and some of us cannot quit our jobs because there are no available jobs out there.”

In a similar development, NUJ resolved to throw its weight behind the staff of AIT and ThisDay Newspapers who went on industrial strike action to protest the non-payment of eight months salaries.