AIT - when you think of it as a broadcast company, it is doing good. But is owing it's staff 6 months salaries.

Everytime I see Raymond Dokpesi,to the cameras for his 'innovation' in the industry, I can't help but wonder at the wickedness of man and the crass exploitation by the rich and mighty. He is making money at the expense of his hardworking but cheated staff. Nigeria and One man businesses, ignore the not too recent listing at the stock exchange - Dokpesi is very much in control.

When some people met him recently about settling the accrued salaries of his staff, he was angry and said there was no money- yet he lives in opulence.
Since I got to know about this, my views about the man has changed.

If you know any company exploiting its staff while not paying Nairalanders , let's use this forum to expose them

my dear let all his staff in PH move to cool fm next door if they are qualified that is

Is it not against the law?

@Poster,
Am not surprised the man is owing staffs despite living in opulence.
Dokpesi is a rouge and his source of wealth is still shrouded in mystery.
The man and his company duped unsuspecting Nigerians into paying twice for it's stocks I mean he came out with 2 IPOs for Daar Comm and Daar Holdings and ended up issuing ceriticates for Daar Comm only without saying anything on Daar Holdings.
So I will advise it's staff to brush up their C.Vs and Fly!

Being owed six months salary is small deal for the AIT Veterans.

What do you say to being owed 13 or 14 months salary? This happened in the past. Very recent past.

Owing salaries is not peculiar to Daar Communications alone; it is an endemic problem facing the mass media as a whole. It accounts for why corruption continues to thrive in the country because all you need do is grease the poor unpaid reporters' palms with some few thousands to get away with blue murder.

A lot of AIT Staff live in grotesque opulence in spite of unpaid meagre salaries. Same for a lot of other media practitioners.

The only media company that pays a living wage and frowns totally on corruption is Timbuktu Media, publishers of Next (see www.234next.com). This is obvious by their gutsy editorial slant. See their recent story on Oyinlola and present editorial on PDP and the state of the nation to get a feel of what I am talking about.

You will be surprised at the number of media practitioners that may desire a career at AIT in spite of the irregular meagre salary because it is a platform for taking big fat brown envelopes.

I pity Nigeria. I pray for Next to survive.

Inasmuch as i condemn his acts, this has been going on for years now, and i am sure some of the employees could have looked for something else, these people are the one making the money for him, why cant they join hands and forms some coalition of broadcasting companies too, use what they know to get what they want.

or

They can apply to some other companies and leave the guy's buz.

looking for another shutdown of the company

SMELLING THAT

AIT/ Raypower

That Daar Communications is owning its staff 6 months salary is no news for those that know the organization a bit,I have a personal experience with them during the period Raypower 106.5fm was still in existence,I did my 4 months Industrial Training with them and later came back for my mandatory one-year I.T.
The most annoying thing is that those at the top hierarchy in the organization does not feel the heat leaving the junior staffs to work for several months without their salaries being paid.
What majority of this people depends on as at that time was stipends from artistes who patronize the media outfit for possible airing of their musical CDs.
Its very painful!

If this is true, then it is not good for the industry at all. Most companies indulge in this
kind of selfish acts while their top shots live in splendour. We must have a change in
how we do business in this country. A workman is worthy of his wages!

Which way Nigeria? It is not only one man businesses that owe their workers in Nigeria. Some big companies are also guilty of exploiting their workers. The Nigerian Media is in a sorry state when it comes to paying salaries of staff. There was a time I worked for one guy who started a Magazine in Lagos. He had a public launch of the Magazine but as time went on, he could not pay his staff. He always made us sign in to work every morning. I tried to explain to him that Media practitioners are not confined to the office but are always on the beat to get stories. He never listened to me. It was also clear that Mr X was not really good at Publishing.

At the end of the day, I left his company without being paid for 3 months. I observed that he lived lavishly but always claimed that he was not making enough money. Anyway, I'm better off today. I believe some laws have to be passed concerning staff renumeration and working conditions in Nigeria. It is really an offence to make people work for you without paying them. Cheers.

Situations like this is not uncommon in Nigeria. It is a painful and sorry situation.

Really AIT/Raypower is not the only company involve in this.

Situation in a company in Agbara is worse. Under the present management, staff are subjected to inhuman conditions. You can't pick calls, staff can't leave the office during working hours for whatever reasons. Imagine staff that have spent 10yrs being asked to resign or dismissed over flimsy issues like not servicing of machines which are still under warranty with suppliers. Most senior management staff have been asked to go on compulsory leave (can't really confirm if they are being paid or not), staff (both those that resign or sacked) are not paid their entitlements. (some have been pending over 2yrs).

You can imagine a staff that was asked to resign in December 2008 - He was not given December salary and till today has not been paid both December salary and his terminal benefit. It is really a sorry site.

The Government should really intervene and look into employer/employee conditions.

slimslim:

Situations like this is not uncommon in Nigeria. It is a painful and sorry situation.

Really AIT/Raypower is not the only company involve in this.

Situation in Pharma-Deko, Agbara is worse. Under the present management, staff are subjected to inhuman conditions. You can't pick calls, staff can't leave the office during working hours for whatever reasons. Imagine staff that have spent 10yrs being asked to resign or dismissed over flimsy issues like not servicing of machines which are still under warranty with suppliers. Most senior management staff have been asked to go on compulsory leave (can't really confirm if they are being paid or not), staff (both those that resign or sacked) are not paid their entitlements. (some have been pending over 2yrs).
You can imagine a staff that was asked to resign in December 2008 - He was not given December salary and till today has not been paid both December salary and his terminal benefit. It is really a sorry site.

The Government should really intervene and look into employer/employee conditions.

Guy why do you want to take personal calls in the office?
why do you want to leave the office during working hours?
why do you not service machine when you were employed to service machines?

I dont know what you guys think employers are.Do you think the job is a tea party?
Most companiesij advance countries will deploy mobile phone jammers and your phone
will not have any network signal foryou tomake calls.

You have sold your time for money by taking upthe job so your free time is your break.

Hi guyz, I don't think that's a licence 4 indolence. Life is a tough race and so we need 2 b prepared 4 d worst, That's y we don't nid 2 run 2 b d first but the best, Make urself worth knowing and orgs will demand ur service. ITS ALL ABOUT VALUE. U hav a choice 2 either stay bak or leave. The choice is urs.

This is nigerians inhumanity to nigerians. No wonder the lebanese and koreans
treat our brothers like dirt. Now we know where they copied it from.

kelao:

Guy why do you want to take personal calls in the office?
why do you want to leave the office during working hours?
why do you not service machine when you were employed to service machines?

I dont know what you guys think employers are.Do you think the job is a tea party?
Most companiesij advance countries will deploy mobile phone jammers and your phone
will not have any network signal foryou tomake calls.

You have sold your time for money by taking upthe job so your free time is your break.

WE NIGERIANS NEED TO CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE LIKE THIS NAIRALANDER JUST MENTIONED; IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, YOU DARE NOT PICK UP CELL PHONE CALL WHILE IN THE OFFICE EXCEPT OFFICE BLACKBERRY WHICH MUST SOLELY BE USED FOR OFFICIAL PURPOSE ONLY; AND HOW CAN YOU EVEN STEP OUT OF THE OFFICE ANYHOW; IF YOU DO, FEW DAYS AND YOU'RE SHOWN THE WAY OUT; YOU KEEP WORKING OR RATHER FIND SOMETHING DOING UNTIL YOUR TIME IS UP, IF NOT, OUT THROUGH THE DOOR!

THAT BEEN SAID, ANOTHER THING THAT WOULD NEVER OCCUR IS STAFF BEING OWED MONEY; FOR WHAT, THAT'S INDULGENT NONSENSE, AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OUR SO CALLED "NIGERIAN SYSTEM" DON'T WORK OR RATHER WE DON'T HAVE A SYSTEM! IT'S A SHAME!

AIT/Raypower and private establishmets are not the only organisation that owe its workers. NITEL or Transcope could not pay its workers for over 7 months now. They throw over 75% of their workers into the labour market, still they refused to pay the retained workers.
Is this the way we are going to rebrand the nation?

because the government too is doing it does not make it acceptable.

It is not acceptable anywhere in the world, but our leaders should lead by example. The Government can not caution the private sectors when they are doing the wrong thing themself. It is injustice and should be frowned at.

Nigeria,
Good People,
Good Nation

very sad .

so sad indeed

So sad when we try to make inhuman situation normal. You can't pick call during official hours, What about emergency situations when a family member needs to get in touch, Especially in this company where they do not even ave a company phone that one can call directly. The fact that you work 8-5 does not mean you don't have a personal life.

Some of us have been opportuned to work outside Nigeria and situation quoted by Kaloe depend on the nature of the job - which is quite uncommon. Having said that, an average normal staff of the office will not just leave the office without having genuine reason (s).

Machines that require the supplier to service it for a particular time cannot be serviced by the staff until the stipulated time is due. In this case, the supplier has been contacted, he promised to get to the office by 2pm. The Engineer was sacked by 1pm.

It's so painful that keloe did not look into the aspect of management asking a staff to resign his appointment with immediate effect without paying due entiltlement and the current month salary. Staff can be sack for whatsoever reason as deemed fit by management but their dues need be given to them.

I can categorically say that most of the present staff will gladly resign their appointment if there is indication that their entitlements will be paid immediately. So why would anyone sell his or her time? Rather unfortunate situation.

true talk, slimslim

RayPower/AIT are not the only ones. i put in about 4 years with Minaj Broadcast International MBI, Matori Mushin. For the 1st six months we were paid half salary, the last seven months of my nearly four year stay, was without salary. Yet the then owner, Mr. Mike Ajegbo terminated my appointment, on thump up excuses. Till date he has not paid my outstanding, mine and those of other colleagues who were gullible or too scared to leave and take their lives in their palms. Sometimes ago Believers Loveworld owned by Pastor Chris Oyhakilomeh entered an arrangement with Mr. Ajegbo, to offset all accumulated bills including unpaid salaries of staff. Mr. Ajegbo collected that sum and chuck it up, how prodigal! They are the so called role models, God forbid.

As for me, i left and has since been self employed. I vowed never to work for any man again. It's been great being my own man. I am in the middle of employing 2 new staff, to meet up with my targets, never will i treat them that way.

Ever wonder why there's a large turn out of staff in Galaxy? The story is the same.

Why would he pay when he has spent money on expatriates and equipment for naija 2009
PRIORITIES DIFFER in 1-MAN business
Pity those guys working for him

This is bad! right now,am looking at the channel and they are showing their latest acquisition- a Mack truck for live beaming of outside broadcast.And on the basis of that,FIFA have appointed it as the broadcast partner of the U-17 WC.
You need to see how the management staffs are praising themselves and smiling.Does that mean that they still pay the senior staffs?and if that is the arrangement,then one should ask if the senior staffs are theonly ones doing the work and the unpaid staffs just lazing away.I have noticed one thing in Nigeria,working under a sole proprietor is slaving.The owner takes it all.

tjadeba:

I have noticed one thing in Nigeria,working under a sole proprietor is slaving.The owner takes it all.

How true. Only I've been wondering why the media is not awash with investigations
into sharp practices like these. Or, is it a case of protecting their own?

How true. Only I've been wondering why the media is not awash with investigations
into sharp practices like these. Or, is it a case of protecting their own

U bet!

what d'you expect?

when i was posted to AIT Asokoro for my NYSC i was rejected just because i did not know anybody there some other girl corper i met there said she was accepted cos her uncle works there, thank God sha maybe by now dem for dey owe me my own salary. wetin person for do