By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

LAGOS—workers in Lagos State governent media organisations, yesterday, put the premises under lock and key as they began a three-day warning strike over failure of the government to implement the N18,000 minimum wage structure for its workers.

The warning strike was backed by the Lagos State chapters of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, and Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union, RATTAWU.

Fashola

Workers of the Lagos State Television, LTV, and Radio Lagos, barricaded the entrances into the two stations as early as 7am. They said that the strike became necessary because the state government had refused to fulfill its own part of the agreement on the implementation, accusing the government of “discrimination against us.”

One of the protesting workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The airwaves would be shut down for three days to press home our demand, following which further action would be decided. The state government has continuously reneged on its promise to implement the wage, which it had begun to implement with our other colleagues in the same civil service. Why is our own different?

“The strike is against the marginalisation of media workers in the state, who have not benefited from the minimum wage paid to other state workers since January. We can`t understand why the government decided to shut us out of the new wage structure and why, after so many assurances, they refused to implement the new wage for media workers.”

The state Acting Chairman of the NUJ, Mr. Deji Elumoye, who led the demonstration, said NUJ took the decision at an earlier congress to back the strike following a deadlock on the matter.