SUNRISE NEWS, Lagos, Aug 28, 2020 The Nation newspaper’s Managing Director Mr Victor Ifijeh has said the termination of some of its workers is regrettable but inevitable.
He said the decision, the best in the circumstance, was borne out of the blistering effect of the Coronavirus pandemic.
He stated this when he met with the executive members of the state council of Nigerian Union of journalists led by the Chairman Dr Qasim Akinreti, over the fate of the disengaged workers.
“The decision to disengage our workers was one in which the management deeply regretted but which became inevitable on account of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said though the company’s standard for clearing disengaged staff benefits is three months, the management has concluded plans to start paying all disengaged staff from September, once they have been cleared by our internal operations.
He assured Akinreti that all dismissed workers would not be ignored or abandoned, adding that the management is working at ensuring that they all smile soon.
Akinreti who was in the company of the Secretary Mr Alfred Odifa, had earlier met with the Editor The Nation Daily Mr Adeniyi Adehina, who had accompanied him to meet with Mr Ifijeh and other management staff of the newspaper.
He said the State Council of the NUJ was concerned about the plight of their members sacked by the management and had decided to pay a working visit to the company to find out steps being taken to pay them all their entitlements.
According to Akinreti, the times are hard and the council, as an umbrella body would not want members to suffer undue hardship on account of delayed gratuity and pension.