Popular private television channel Canal 3 Niger has terminated 36 employees who participated in a three-day strike to demand overdue pay. The dismissals, which took place on Tuesday, affected journalists, cameramen, and technicians.
Media associations have highlighted that many journalists in Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, have not received salaries for a year or more. Media outlets are struggling with declining revenues due to the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and regional sanctions imposed following a coup last year.
Ismaël Abdoulaye, head of Canal 3 Niger, told AFP on Thursday that some of the employees were dismissed for “insubordination” while others were let go for “breach of contract.”
Chamssiyatou Kimba, a spokeswoman for the dismissed employees, stated at a press conference that they had been seeking two months of back pay, noting that the salary arrears owed to them were for “over one-and-a-half years.” She explained, “Instead of the two months’ salary we were demanding, they paid us for only one month, so we went on strike.”
Abdoulaye argued that the employees had abandoned their posts after receiving a month’s back pay, without ensuring minimum service, calling the strike illegal and stating that proper procedures had not been followed.
However, Kimba contested this claim, asserting that the strikers had informed management of their intention to take industrial action.
