Abuja- The Supervising Minister of Information, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, on Wednesday appealed to officials of the NUJ and RATTAWU to suspend their ongoing warning strike.
Mohammed made the appeal at a meeting with officials of the unions to deliberate on ways to resolve issues surrounding the ongoing strike of the media.
Mohammed said he had earlier met with NUJ president, and the deputy president to deliberate on the same issue.
“My self and the Minister of Labour had informed the president during the Federal Executive Council meeting about the warning strike and the president directed us to initiate positive issues to bring this to an end.
“ I had already agreed with the Permanent Secretary to meet before we go to the council and the Minister of Labour had met with the president on the same issue,’’ he said.
He said that there was an ongoing process regarding the issues of increasing the salaries of media practitioners which was discussed and signed in the presence of the President on Dec. 11.
In his remarks, the NUJ President, Alhaji Garba Mohammed, said there was a forum comprising some of the Directors-General of NTA, VON and NBC on the same issue.
He said as at 2012 when they were able to achieve the weigh-in allowance and based on the agreement, it was thought that that was the first step of achieving a new salary structure for media workers.
“ I remember vividly that there was a committee in place; we also had some meeting with the SGF where some of these issues were discussed.
“ Unfortunately a meeting was not called and up to this moment I speak with you, there was no response from the Federal Government.”
He said that the issue of funding was fundamental because quite a number of the equipment were dilapidated and was communicated to the Federal Government.
Also, the RATTAWU president said the two unions should be adequately represented on the issue of digitilisation so that other members would know what had happened. (NAN)
