Exclusive: Daily Trust newspaper pose to sack 200 staff, affected workers may sue company

Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust newspapers, is poised to embark on mass sack of its work force.

This is coming in the heels of distrust among staff and in the board of directors of the company.

Unconfirmed sources claimed that Kabiru Yusuf, Chairman of the company, has succeeded in edging out Isiaka Ajibola, who was the founder of the company.

This has been seen as an ethnic agenda going on in the company.

Kabiru, after successfully edging out Ajibola from the company, has refused to retire from the company, as earlier announced by the board of directors.

Kabiru, has now found his way back to the company as he continues to earn salary from the company, after retirement.

Presently, about 200 staffers of the company is expected to loose their jobs.

The reason for this is that the company is planning to either sack or casualise any staff who has put in 10 years and above with the company.

The new policy is cruel to staff of the company who have put in 10 years and above but less than 50 years of age, as the policy plans to casualise their appointment or sack them but will withhold their terminal benefits till such staff is 50 years old.

This policy, was said to have been sold to the Kabiru Yusuf led Board of Directors by an Indian Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Abhay Desai, who many of the staff claimed has not brought any good thing to the company since his employment with the company, over 2 years ago.

The affected staff are warming up for the implementation of the policy and heading to court afterwards.

The staff are asking for the justification of their sack or retirement and withholding their entitlement till they are 50 years of age.

“Why this? Whose interest is it to keep my money in the company? When you are not ready to pay me, why sacking me”?

These are some of the questions the staff want the Kabiru Yusuf led board of directors to answer.

The staffers are tracing their woes to the employment of the indian expatriates, Abhay Desai whose salary is over 4million naira in a month. This exclude the local allowances that is estimated to around N500,000 monthly.

The staff have made up their mind to drag the company to court to claim their right, but only waiting for the circular which is expected to be released any moment from now.

This policy according to the Indian expatriate will either CRUSH the company or LIFT it up.

Many industry watchers are of the opinion that the boardroom politics of the company is taken too far and may consume the company.

Efforts to get any of the top management staff to speak proved abortive.