Members of the National Union of Printing, Publication and Paper Products Workers on Wednesday closed the entrance to Independent Newspaper Limited, publishers of Daily Independent, Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent titles.
The workers were protesting the non-payment of 18 months salary.
The placard-carrying protesters chanted “solidarity forever” for about two hours in front of the gate of the head office of the newspaper located on Block 5, Plot 7 D, Wempco Road, Ogba, Lagos.
The protesters said they were tired of “suffering and laughing”.
They urged the management to pay them their salaries and remit their pensions and tax.
The protest started about noon and ended around 2pm.
No management staff came out to address the protesters.
The Managing Director, Ted Iwere, was also not on the premises when the protest started.
Meanwhile, the editorial staff of the newspaper, though were in the newsroom working, were said to be in support of the protesters.
Some of them said the protest had not yet turned to full blown strike.
They added that it was the reason they had not joined NUPPPROW for a total shut down of the company.
The Chairman of NUPPPROW, Daily Independent chapter, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, said: “I cannot explain why workers’ salary has not been paid.
“It’s left for the management to give reason for withholding our salary for more than 18 months now.
“As you can see, there are protests everywhere.
“We are not just talking about salary only.
“The management used to deduct workers’ salary without informing us or giving us reasons.”
Nwachukwu said part of their demands was a change of management.
He added: “I don’t know why media can’t tell the world what we are going through today.”
According to him, before embarking on the protest, they had done everything possible to talk to the management and exhausted all avenues.
He described the management as stubborn.
He said: “The funny thing is that, if you don’t come to work, you would be sacked, despite the fact that the salary of some months had not been paid.
“That is injustice.
“We have lost so many staff.
“One of our staff, who had been sick, came here with a pipe through his bladder.
“He came here to ask payment of his salary arrears but they refused to pay him.
“The man is dead now.”