The Management of TV3 Network, has justified the sacking of Thirty-Two (32) employees.
The decision has drawn some public outcry; but the management insists the workers engaged in a series of illegal actions which disrupted their operations.
Some of the dismissed workers have subsequently accused management of discrimination, saying the decision is an infringement on their right to demand better conditions of service and salary increment.
The management of the station on Tuesday confirmed the dismissal of the staff for engaging in various actions considered a “breach of the ethics and legal requirements.”
A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Jimi Matthews, dated February 28, 2017, said the affected staff from various departments, embarked on an industrial action without following due procedure.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, the Spokesperson for TV3’s management, Henry Nii Dortey, insisted their actions were justified.
“Some impression has been created in the media that we’ve dismissed people for wearing red to work, absolutely not. And that would be preposterous for somebody to think that a management team will make a decision because people have wore a particular attire to work, no.”
He noted that, management of TV3 met with the union to discuss some decisions the staff had taken in recent times.
“On Wednesday, we invited the union and asked them – do you intend to go on a strike or what is happening so that we will understand clearly what was happening. Because you haven’t served any notice of same to us, and the labour law requires that if you want to take a decision that is well within your rights, you have to notify your management. The response they gave to us is that it is not a union decision and the union hasn’t made any declaration of going on strike. But these activities that were happening were a worrying situation that we had to deal with.”
Mr. Dortey explained that, the decision by management of TV3 was not unilateral because “we gave the workers involved the opportunity to be heard.”
“Last year, [2016], we raised salaries of workers of the business so I’m not sure that, it is a matter of asking for higher salaries. So I’m not very clear as to what exactly would have pushed them to engage in this action that they did. It’s clearly unacceptable for them to do that and we will not sit and wait until it gets to a point where it goes out of our control and our reach that could affect our business of broadcast. So we met and took a decision and the decision was to terminate the appointments of these people,” he added.
Meanwhile, the mother union for the workers, Public Service Workers Union, says it is optimistic its involvement will get the TV3 management to reconsider its stance.
According to the General Secretary of the Union, Richard Ampaben, talks are currently underway to resolve the situation.
“We contacted management to find out what had caused all these. And that meeting will be held on Thursday. We do not want to stampede the process, because we have what we call negotiating committee which is the avenue for redress of grievances. And we are going to make use of this platform that we have. We will make our case clear; and I don’t think there will be cause for management to maintain this position; I’m sure we will influence their position,” he added.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
