Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has advised aviation unions to make industrial action their last resort in their disagreement with the Federal government.
Onyema said the parties should continue to embrace dialogue. He made this known on Monday during an interview with Channels TV.
“Let strike be the last resort. As a non-violence practitioner, and as long as the other party is open to discussion, you must continue to avail yourself of that opportunity to continue discussion,” Onyema said.
He added that: “It is only employed in a non-violence parlance when the other party refuses to discuss. But as long as your party is ready to discuss, there shouldn’t be direct action. However, complaints should be looked into.”
Prime Business Africa previously reported last week that the aviation unions went on strike on Monday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 18.
Onyema said the strike resulted in the loss of billions of naira that won’t be recovered: “Whenever these strikes erupt in the aviation industry, it is the airlines that suffer most, together with the flying public.
“The loss of revenue and the cost associated with the strikes are enormous. Airline operators in Nigeria lost several billions of naira within those two days of disruptive activities and no one is going to give that back to us.
“The insurance on our planes is static. Whether you fly, or we don’t fly, those aeroplanes have been insured. Salaries are to be paid and monies owed to fuel vendors, they must be paid.
“So, each time you call for a strike in the aviation sector, it is very disruptive and the consequences are very, very high.
“I have to say this, the aviation sector is tied to the security of the country, and anything to do with national security is taken very seriously.”
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