Manama: In an unprecedented move in Bahrain's media history, staff at Al Waqt newspaper went on strike after the management said they did not have enough funds to pay salaries.
The personnel did not report to work on Wednesday, causing the newspaper to not publish yesterday.
Editor-in-Chief Fareed Ahmad Hassan said the strike would only be for one day, but did not rule out that it could continue if the situation did not improve.
"The staff held a meeting last week to discuss their conditions and agreed on forming a three-member committee representing the editorial team, the administration and the technicians to talk with the management," he said.
Financial difficulties
During talks last Thursday, the management explained the financial difficulties the newspaper was facing and urged the personnel to appreciate the situation.
However, promises that investors would inject extra cash did not convince the committee members, who said they would go ahead with the strike. They initially wanted to scheduled it for Sunday before agreeing to give the management more time and postponed it until this Thursday.
Sources said the personnel later decided to resort to industrial action on Wednesday — and the newspaper did not appear yesterday.
"The non-publication of the newspaper on Friday will not have the strong impact it would have on Thursday," one source said.
Khalil Bu Hazza, a journalist with the paper, said the pain caused by the non-publication was "terrible".
"The pain we feel about the paper not hitting the stands is much more acute than the suffering from not receiving salaries," he said.
The company will now hold an extraordinary general assembly by the end of the month to assess the situation and decide whether to inject money to rescue the paper.
