- Say 80% of workforce living in poverty
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) have notified the Federal Government, employers in the industry and the public that airport operations might become seriously constrained as a result of actions it would take in defence of its members who have been laid off from work.
At a joint press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, the General Secretary of NUATE, Ocheme Aba, the Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, and the Secretary General of ANAP, Abdulrazaq Saidu, claimed that aviation’s industrial space has become ‘severely fouled by extreme wickedness to employees, disrespect to labour laws and utter disregard to labour relations practices by employers and government’ and that there is a compelling need for them to take actions against the assaults on the rights of aviation workers throughout Nigeria.
Among the issues enumerated, the unions claimed that more than 80 per cent of the aviation workforce in the private sector who have been furloughed for the past four months remain in penury while another chunk of workers have been coping with half or less salary within the period but said that these same workers are expected to return to work until the companies are able to pay salaries. The unions accused airlines of making it impossible for their employees to freely join trade unions of their choosing, saying it is in clear violation of the Constitution of Nigeria and the Labour Act. They said in view of this, they have served notices to airlines like Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Turkish Airlines, Air Peace, Dana Air, Azman Air, Caverton Helicopters, and others and that in the coming days, the airlines will ‘have to contend with the wrath of aviation workers unless they ameliorate their various situations soon enough.’
They also said that the negotiated conditions of service in most of the agencies have been lying fallow for over seven years and that the Minimum Wage Act which was signed into law and took effect from April 1, 2020 has not been implemented by most of the agencies.
