Chronicle reporters on strike over salary arrears

Pieces of information gathered by this reporter from the Accra based office of General Portfolio Limited, publishers of The Chronicle newspaper, one of Ghana’s most authoritative newspapers indicates that, reporters of the paper on Monday embarked on a sit down strike.

The strike action, according to the information, is to exert pressure on management to improve their working conditions and ensure the payment of salaries, which reports say, have accumulated for the past five months.

According to the aggrieved reporters, the laid down of their pen and notepads of the once upon a time most powerful newspaper in the country was motivated by management’s apparent lack of interest in addressing their myriad challenges.

A senior reporter of the company, who spoke with this reporter on strict condition of anonymity in Accra over the weekend, said working with The Chronicle newspaper now is more painful than before.

According to the senior reporter, reporters of the company have demonstrated great deal of professionalism and dedicated service to the smooth running of the company despite the company’s inability to pay reporters of their usual monthly allowances for transportation and airtime of GHS50.00 for over three years now.

The visibly frustrated senior reporter who said he has nothing to prove as a senior reporter but just by name, all effort to urge management to do something about the situation have fallen on death ears.

“We are not going to work until our salaries have been paid to us in order to get something for our families during and after the Christmas”, the irate reporter stressed.

“I have worked with the company for over 10 years now and have nothing to prove not even Christmas that the company would give you even a sachet of water”, the frustrated Chronicle reporter added.

The reporter further disclosed that, the likes of Charles Takyi of Daily Guide, Bismark Bebli of The General Telegraph among host of reporters all left the company by resigning following the poor condition of service in the company over the years.

“Call my other colleagues in the regions and find out from them, some of them lost their office far back 2008 and they now work from their bedrooms, drinking spots and cafes. It is a shame that we have the gut to talk about others whilst we cannot address our problems. It is a hell to work with the chronicle now”, he angrily averred.

It was revealed that, the current unbearable situation at the Tesano based private newspaper has compelled the news editor of the paper Mr. Daniel Nannor to move to the Informer newspaper where condition of service is comparatively better than the Chronicle.

The resignation of the news editor appears to be the tip of the iceberg as mass resignation imminent.

Management of the company on Monday, November 17, this year called for an emergence meeting among the reporters pleading with them to reconsider their decision of going on strike.

Meanwhile, the senior reporters of the paper reportedly met with the publisher, Kofi Koomson on Tuesday, in an attempt to calm the nerves of the angry workers.