Staff of Imo Broadcasting Corporation, IBC on a three day warning strike in demand of five months’ salary arrears, have claimed that the Director General, Mrs. Esther Obong-Egbuna died as a result of Rochas Okorocha government owing her five months’ salary.
The workers, who were operating under the umbrella, Joint Action Committee (JAC) effectively sealed the Corporation’s premises. They hung placards that portrayed their grievances at the gate.
Some of the placards read: “Okorocha, pay us our five months’ salary.”
“Okorocha, we are tired of dishing out lies via IBC channels.”
“We want our salary 100%.”
“We mourn our DG who died of non-payment of 5-month salary” and “Okorocha, We have reached our elastic limit”.
One of the workers was angry that the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo publicly asserted in the press that all civil servants had been paid up to April.
The CPS had written in a press rejoinder: “As I write, the payment of April salary has begun. In other words, the civil servants, teachers, local government workers and so on, have been paid up to the month of April. Which means, only the month of May is outstanding, since June has not ended. We stand to be contradicted on these counter-claims”.
The aggrieved staff said that it was morally wrong for the CPS to mislead the public, “when IBC workers and other civil servants and pensioners were suffering and dying instalmentally”.
He linked their Director General’s death to the pressure arising from non-payment of their five months’ salary.
The striking workers warned that they “will go back to the trenches if, by the close of work on Friday, government refuses or neglects to pay our salaries”.
Recall that Esther Obong-Egbuna slumped and died in her Owerri residence this month.
cpcnews.org 