The protesters bore placards with various inscriptions such as 'Salary Discrepancies', 'Epileptic Production', 'Backlog of Promotions', 'Bad Working Environment' and 'Non-payment of salaries', among others.
A day after the world marked Workers Day, staff of Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, publisher of The Herald Newspapers, on Thursday staged a peaceful protest over "poor working conditions".
The aggrieved staff also decried the poor condition of their offices, the entire vicinity in which the media outfit is located and the non-payment of accumulated allowances.
According to NAN, the protesters bore placards with various inscriptions such as 'Salary Discrepancies', 'Epileptic Production', 'Backlog of Promotions', 'Bad Working Environment' and 'Non-payment of salaries', among others.
The staff, under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products’ Workers (NUPPPPROW), shut down the gate leading to the premises of the newspaper house in Ilorin, the state capital.
Speaking with Journalists, Abdulrasaq Ahmed, the NUPPPPROW Chairman, said the workers were protesting bad working environment and dilapidated state of infrastructure in the outfit.
He said that staff had been contending with the poor working condition for almost nine years without any hope in sight.
He also stated that the staff used to take refuge under the tree because of the unbearable nature of their offices.
Ahmed decried the epileptic production of the newspaper, which used to be on the newsstand four times in a week but was now struggling to come out once in a week. He said the situation had rendered several able staff redundant.
Addressing the aggrieved workers, Mohammed Sabi, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, called for calm, promising to table the grievances before Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.
He lauded the workers for being civil and law-abiding in their agitation.
The Herald is one of the oldest state newspaper in Nigeria.