Metro TV Boss' Racist Rants

It is the kind of abuse many workers of Metro TV go through but hardly get told for fear of losing their job, but this time, one worker is building a three-course coalition to halt what has become known as the chronic racist ranting of Mr. Talal Fatal, CEO of Metro TV.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) are separately handling a petition involving Mr. Fatal, the Lebanese-Ghanaian businessman whose workers have been reaching out to the media since the beginning of this year with complaints bordering on racism, unlawful dismissals and other occupational matters.

By tomorrow, the TUC is expected to write to the minister of employment and manpower development who has oversight responsibilities over labour issues to help subpoena Mr. Fatal to cooperate with them on the several complaints the Congress has been receiving from workers of the station.

According to top officials of the TUC, Mr. Fatal has been very dodgy with TUC in respect of cooperating with them to investigating several complaints of racism and maltreatment brought against him by workers of Metro TV. It is as a result of this that the TUC says it is writing to the sector minister to compel Mr. Fatal to appear before it to respond to the complaints against him. Currently, there is another petition from one of the staff of Metro TV before the TUC where the petitioner says: "I have been subjected to a consistent barrage of derogatory abuse by the CEO." The petitioner, Melvin Mantse Aryeequaye, stated that "I have been subjected to a constant barrage of derogatory abuse by the CEO of the aforementioned company. Talal has called me everything from 'Mother-Fucker, Asshole, Idiot, Stupid, Animal, etc. There have been situations were he has told me to Kiss His Backside in Arabic, he stated." Melvin who identified himself as the presenter of Music Box, an entertainment programme produced from the Eboni Studios of Metro TV noted that he was made to overwork himself on that program as he had no production crew.

"The show had no production crew. I served as the cameraman, light, soundman, director/producer. In addition, I shot and directed Metro Pulse, through December 2004 to April 2005. None of the operations I undertook was paid for, he continued. Melvin also petitioned TUC to help stop what he referred as the persistent abuse of the right of Metro TV staff whom he said are also suffering from such ranting.

The senior administrative secretary of the TUC, Mr. Foster Ben Kotey, confirmed the story and hinted that there are several of such complaints levelled against Mr. Fattal.

"We have had several information that the CEO has been assaulting his staff, including verbal assaults. He sacks workers without notifying them and ask the security to throw them out of the premises, Mr. Kottey told the Enquirer