Popular private television channel Canal 3 Niger has fired 36 employees who went on a three-day strike to demand overdue wages.
The employees dismissed on Tuesday include journalists, cameramen, and technicians.
Many journalists in Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, have not been paid for a year or more, according to media associations. Media outlets are struggling with reduced revenues following the Covid-19 pandemic and regional sanctions imposed after a coup last year.
Canal 3 Niger head Ismaël Abdoulaye explained to AFP on Thursday that some of the dismissals were due to “insubordination” and others for “breach of contract.”
Chamssiyatou Kimba, a spokeswoman for the sacked employees, said at a press conference that they had been demanding two months’ back pay, with salary arrears owed for “over one-and-a-half years.” Kimba stated, “Instead of the two months’ salary we were demanding, they paid us for only one month and we went on strike.”
Abdoulaye contended that the strike was illegal and that the employees did not follow the proper procedures. “The day they received a month’s salary in back pay… everyone disappeared without ensuring minimum service,” he said. “The strike was illegal, there are procedures to be followed to go on strike.”
However, Kimba disputed Abdoulaye’s claim, insisting that the strikers had informed management about their intention to take industrial action.
