Aviation workers embark on two days warning strike

The country’s aviation sector has continued to swim in the murky waters of confusion as the aviation unions embarked on a two-day warning strike which commenced today, Monday, May 9, 2022, and to end tomorrow, Tuesday.

Following the unions’ strike, many workers across the agencies were prevented from carrying out their official duties as the gates leading to the officers were blocked by the unions.

This came few hours after the earlier threats by the domestic airline operators to shutdown flight operations over unbearable hike in the price of aviation fuel and other challenges threw the sector into disarray.

The warning strike by the unions however has not affected smooth flight operations as the airlines including the local and foreign carriers continued with their activities unhindered.

According to a source in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, one of the agencies the unions have targeted, despite the warning strike, the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) have continued to ensure the smooth take off and landing of all aircraft flying into and out of the country with other essential services being provided.

This is just as the federal government continues to engage the domestic airlines operators on how to find a way out of challenges confronting them which has led to increase in the cost of their operations.

The unions had last week directed all the workers across the agencies to stay away from duty on Monday and Tuesday as a warning strike to the government and the establishments over failure to address the issue of workers’ conditions of service and other sundry issues.

As the entire sector was yet recover from the confusion created by the threats of the airlines, the unions have embarked on the warning strike notifying the government and the workers of the warning strike which they described as the tenth warning strike over pending issues.

To draw home their threats, the unions according to information gathered as early as 7am on Monday had trooped to the airport to block some of the agencies thus preventing the workers from carrying out their duties.

The affected agencies included; the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.

The unions attributed their reasons for the action to the issues surrounding “workers’ condition of service and other sundry issues which have been neglected for nine years”.

In a telephone chat with the Secretary General of NUATE, Comrade Aba Ocheme, he confirmed the development but said the reason why flight operations were not affected was because the union had no problem with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the manager of the airports.

The confusion however became compounded as some of the unions which had earlier supported the struggle suddenly pulled out of the agreement on the excuse that they were not properly briefed.

In a statement issued by the unions which pulled out, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professional (ANAP), the unions “consequently called on all our members to report for duty uninterruptedly as the proposed warning strike is suspended forthwith”.
The only union left in the struggle, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) had blocked the entrances leading to NCAA, NAMA,NIMET and NCAT thus preventing the workers from having access to their duty posts.

Meanwhile, the government is presently meeting the airline operators in Abuja to agree on a way to resolve the issues of the hike in the price of aviation fuel and other matters they attributed to why they earlier threatened to shutdown their operations.

The operators following appeal from the government had at the last minute on Sunday rescinded the plans to see if the government could address their challenges.