Aviation workers threaten to shut down airspace in seven days

Aviation workers threaten to shut down airspace in seven days

 

Aviation workers’ unions have warned of an impending indefinite strike action should the government fail to resolve the m non-implementation of Condition of Service (CoS), and other their other demands in the next seven days.

Leaders of the unions, at the end of their two-day warning strike on Tuesday, vowed to shut down the airspace.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has kept mum on the development.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has however been engaging in negotiation with the aggrieved workers.6

Offices of aviation agencies were shut nationwide on Tuesday as airports witnessed mild disruptions and low patronage of travellers.

In Lagos, there was heavy presence of security operatives at domestic terminals, forcing the unionists to lead a procession to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) corridors.

The aviation workers’ unions had complained about the non-implementation of the CoS about seven years after it was negotiated with the workers.

The unions are the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees (AUPCTRE).

They also demanded the implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019, and the halting of the planned demolition of all the agency buildings in Lagos by the Minister of Aviation for an airport city project, without consideration for workers that will be displaced.

Leader of the unions 5, Abdulrarak Saidu, expressed disappointment that the aviation workers had been left hanging in the last eight years.

“For eight years, the conditions of service were not implemented. This is because Sirika has usurped functions of the governing boards of aviation agencies,” Saidu said.

But Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, urged the workers’ unions to sheath their swords, promising that their demands would be met.

Nuhu, on Sunday, conveyed meetings with the union members, the Salary and Wages Commission, along with heads of aviation agencies, and their Heads of Finance Departments. Another meeting was slated for late yesterday.

The meeting with the Salaries and Wages Commission is for the examination of their various account books to determine whether or not the increases in salaries being demanded could be accommodated in their various Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs).

The outcome of this meeting will be forwarded to the Head of Service of the Federation for consideration and approval, he said. He also pleaded for more time and understanding of the Union.

The General Secretary of AUPCTRE, Sikiru Waheed, told reporters in Abuja that the strike was to warn the travelling public to make other plans as they intend to shut down the airports should their demands go unmet.

 

Aviation unions threaten to shut down airspace in seven days