Fakoyejo Olalekan
Five aviation unions in Nigeria have threatened to suspend operations across Nigerian airports amid a disagreement with the Federal Government over condition of service and salary review.
The five aviation unions are the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees.
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According to the workers, the suspension of services will take from Monday, 17 April 2023, to Tuesday 18 April. This followed a 14-day ultimatum the aviation unions issued to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and some specific aviation parastatals since February 7, 2023.
In a statement released to warn the government ahead of the protest which will result in disruption of air travel in Nigeria, the aviation unions listed a handful of issues that the government has failed to achieve despite giving assurances.
The workers said non-implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019 and refusal to release the reviewed condition of service has compelled the unions to take such action.
The unions said they have “issued a 14-day ultimatum to the honourable minister of aviation and specific aviation parastatals since February 7, 2023, over the following demands: non-implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019.”
According to the memo instructing aviation workers of the planned protest, the aggrieved workers said: “…refusal of the Salaries, Income & Wages Commission, (NSIWC) and office of the head of service of the federation, (OHCSF), to release the reviewed condition of service, (CoS), of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet).
“As negotiated between our unions and the agencies, and as duly conveyed by the federal ministry of aviation since upwards of nine years.”
