Thirty-two staff of TV3 Network Limited have summarily been dismissed from the company for engaging in a series of action which management described as a “breach of the ethics and legal requirements” regarding the employer/employee relationship.

A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Jimi Matthews, dated February 28, 2017 explained the affected staff who are from various departments including editorial, marketing and library “attempted to embark on industrial action” without following the provisions of the Labour Act. It said the staff took part in a series of action spanning about a week “without serving notice of their intentions to management and without providing management with an opportunity to engage with the aggrieved personnel.

“The actions include, but was not limited to, writing inflammatory statements on the corridor walls and passage floors threatening dire action, hoisting of a red flag on the transmission mast inside the premises and subsequently wearing red attire and armbands signifying support for the intend disruption of the work process,” the statement added.

It explained further that “the impact of the envisaged industrial actions would have dire operational, financial and human capacity implications for the company” which is a leading private television station in the country.

“Management after reviewing the actions have decided to dismiss the staff members who were involved in the illegal action,” the statement added. Meanwhile, management has advised all staff to use appropriate platforms to voice their grievances or seek redress, adding “breaches of laid down procedures would not be entertained”.

It also thanked the staff for their contribution to the company, which has over the years changed the face of television broadcast with among other things, innovations, quality and state-of-the-art studio.