Dud cheque: IBC staff plan showdown

Contract staff of Imo State owned radio and TV station, Imo
Broadcasting Corporation Owerri IBC, are furious that the management
still oweing them more than six months of their salaries which
includes a dud cheque of July to November 2015.
The staff who received the salary cheques last year when Dr. Vitalis
Orikaeze Ajumbe was heading the Management Board of the Corporation,
said the cheque failed to clear, even when those that were issued to
fulltime staff of the Corporation have long been spent.
According to one of them, they believe that both the management of
the cooperation and government are playing tricks on them because
since 2015 till date, no one has done any tangible to see that the
cheques are cleared.

"It has been one promise to another", the staff said. "Most of us are
now mute, because when we try to speak, they tell us we might lose our
chances of becoming fulltime staff in future and because of that most
of us can no longer speak even when we are being owed up to six months
salary".

It was also gathered that during the time of Dr. Ajumbe, the same
staff were all sacked and after a fresh interview some of them were
reengaged, with their appointment taking effect from December 1, 2015.

The source also hinted that some people who refused to go with the
terms of service being offered by the Dr. Ajumbe led Management Board
were sacked, while the rest who continued till 2016, were also sacked
on February 15, 2016 by the directives of the state governments
without January and February salaries.
Although about 50% of the sacked contract staff have been recalled in
April 2016, they are yet to receive the January and February 2016
salaries for which they worked.The workers are said to not have
received either April or May 2016 salaries.