Workers at BCOS are considering a stay-at-home protest over unpaid salaries, unremitted deductions, and welfare concerns, urging the Oyo Government to intervene.
A major industrial crisis is looming at the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) as workers are reportedly considering a stay-at-home protest over the continued non-payment of salaries, the non-remittance of statutory deductions, and the worsening welfare conditions within the corporation.
Information available indicates that frustration among members of staff has reached a breaking point, with many workers struggling to survive under severe economic hardship caused by persistent salary delays.
Employees have reportedly exhausted all avenues of engagement with the management, but the issues affecting their welfare remain unresolved, fueling growing calls for industrial action.
One of the major issues fueling the growing tension is the failure of the management to remit statutory and third-party deductions for almost one year.
The leadership of the two in-house unions has expressed deep concern over what they described as a disturbing contradiction in the corporation’s financial management.
According to the unions, despite the Oyo State Government reportedly increasing BCOS’s subvention by 100 percent and the corporation recording improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in recent times, the Board and Management have remained adamant in fulfilling their obligations to workers.
The union questioned why salaries and statutory deductions continue to be delayed or withheld, even with the occasional ₦100 million additional income reportedly generated through the corporation’s advertising agency in Lagos.
The union leaders maintained that these financial improvements should ordinarily have translated into prompt payment of salaries and the remittance of all statutory deductions instead of the persistent hardship currently being experienced by workers.
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The failure to remit cooperative deductions has also thrown the BCOS Cooperative Society into a serious financial crisis.
The cooperative society has reportedly been dragged before a court over outstanding financial obligations arising from the management’s failure to remit deductions already made from workers’ salaries.
This development has not only tarnished the image of the cooperative society but has also placed innocent workers in difficult financial situations, as many are unable to access loans and other benefits despite regular deductions from their earnings.
Equally disturbing is the reported non-remittance of deductions meant for the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA).
As a result, workers and their dependants have been denied access to healthcare services under the health insurance scheme, despite deductions having been made from their salaries.
Several employees have reportedly been forced to pay for medical treatment out of pocket or postpone necessary healthcare because they can no longer access the benefits of the scheme.
The worsening situation has generated widespread anger among employees, who insist that the corporation’s improved financial position should have reflected positively on staff welfare.
Instead, they lament that salaries remain unpaid, statutory deductions remain unremitted, and workers continue to bear the burden of economic hardship.
Sources within the corporation disclosed that members of staff are now seriously considering a stay-at-home protest to draw the attention of the Oyo State Government and relevant authorities to their plight.
According to the workers, they can no longer continue to discharge their responsibilities while their welfare is neglected and their legitimate entitlements are withheld.
Labour leaders have therefore called on the Oyo State Government to urgently intervene by ensuring the immediate payment of all outstanding salaries and the remittance of all statutory and third-party deductions.
They warned that failure to address these issues promptly could lead to an industrial action capable of disrupting broadcasting activities and further damaging staff morale and public confidence in the corporation.
Workers maintain that their demands are neither unreasonable nor political. They insist that they are simply asking for what is rightfully theirs—regular payment of salaries, prompt remittance of statutory deductions, access to healthcare through OYSHIA, and accountability in the management of the corporation’s finances.
They believe that with the increased government subvention, improved IGR, periodic releases of substantial funds, and revenue generated through the Lagos advertising office, there should be no justification for the continued neglect of workers’ welfare.
Unless urgent and decisive steps are taken to address these grievances, observers fear that BCOS may soon witness one of its most significant industrial disputes in recent years, with far-reaching consequences for the corporation, its employees, and the broadcasting services it provides to the people of Oyo State.
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