Cape Town - Popular radio presenter Nigel Pierce says he was handed a letter terminating his employment at Good Hope FM in full view of other staff when he reported for duty on Friday denied access to the SABC premises. Listeners were caught by surprise when Pierce did not go on air on Friday afternoon for his regular slot.
According to Pierce, his last Radio Police show was supposed to be aired on March 29, but he was told that he had breached contract by making the information public. This despite his refusal to sign a confidentiality agreement presented to him on Wednesday.
The station also claimed that he only gave 10 percent to the show after being moved from the morning slot to an afternoon slot and that he was a "risk to the brand" of the radio station.
Pierce says he was "affronted" and asked to see proof of the allegations, which has to date not been provided. He questioned how these allegations could be true in light of the show's "double-digit growth year-on-year".
In a series of posts on Instagram on Saturday Pierce lashed out at his former employers saying the planning meetings for the show were often haphazard and that there was usually no agenda and no pre-planning.
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The Radio Police. What happened to my relationship with station manager? Listen
A post shared by The Radio Police(@nigelpierce) on Mar 9, 2019 at 12:52am PST
Pierce said that he was often belittled in front of team members during these meetings and that it was "no wonder team members started chastising me and denigrating me on the air". He said there were often "veiled threats" - which he requested management to refrain from doing - of being removed from the show and being moved to other slots.
Good Hope FM has yet to respond to a request from IOL to comment on Pierce's firing and the allegations levelled against them.