Fakoyejo OlalekanThe General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ocheme Aba, urged the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and owners of Arik Air to settle their feud.
Aba said the dispute is not helpful to the growth of the company, which he said requires more investment to survive.
He stated that the survival of Arik Air will be beneficial to both AMCON and the owners, not just the workers in the aviation sector.
In the statement, NUATE said: “A recognition of this fact will alter the present state of adversity/animosity between the two gladiators which has been anything but helpful.
“If the two parties agree to work together, and receive the understanding of the workforce, it is our concrete belief that a pathway out of the doldrums will be not too difficult to chart.”
Furthermore, he affirmed that the interest of the owners, the Receivers Manager, the workers and the creditors of Arik Air should be put into consideration in the airline’s objectives.
Aba opined that the intention of AMCON towards Arik Air is not known yet, but that of the airline owners is clear, which is to reclaim the company from AMCON.
The union said it will require the interceding of the incoming Minister of Aviation to ensure synergy among all stakeholders involved in the operations of Arik Air.
“We consider that ultimately, the incoming Minister of Aviation will have to give due consideration with view of fostering the needed synergy among all stakeholders to assure that the foregoing objectives are positively delivered in the interest of the owners, the Receivers Manager, the workers, other creditors of Arik Air, and the aviation industry at large. This is necessarily the duty of government.
“It is not clear what the mind of AMCON is reading right now. But, it is clear to us what the mind of the owners of Arik is reading; to get back their company.
“The purpose of this intervention is to assist to unite the minds of the owners with the Receivers in the direction that can, through practical deliverables, arrive at the point where a healthy Arik Air can return to normalcy at the peak of the Nigerian airline industry where it rightly belongs.
“We sincerely appeal to all parties to agree to a truce and start now to work in alliance to assure the health of the Airline. A healthy Arik Air should be the objective, and in fact the interest, of all. Anything else will do no one any good,” Aba said on behalf of the workers.
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