Strike: FG engages aviation workers to avert looming industrial action

The Federal Government on Monday, 7 February, 2022, commenced negotiations with workers in the aviation sector to avert impending nationwide strike.

National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the unions in the aviation sector in the country had issued a warning for industrial action starting from Tuesday, February 8, 2022 over poor welfare and unimplemented agreements with the Government.

Meeting with the unions for discussion on the issues in Abuja last night, FG team led by the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, and Aviation, Hadi Sirika, expressed appreciation to the workers and promised to duly resolve the looming crisis.

In his remarks, Ngige noted that the aviation workers gave the necessary warning to his ministry, but they resolved that their parent ministry should first engage with them.

“I am happy that the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Aviation reported that they did so with you, but there are two major areas that they couldn’t reach an agreement with you and therefore, you had to escalate the matter by issuing an ultimatum to close the entire air space.

“I can see that all of you are here, both the traffic controllers and engineers. We thought there may be some openings in the air space, but I can see that all of you are united.

“I can assure you that we are going to reach agreements here and some of the agreements will be reached with the speed of a flash and we will get back to them.” He added

Furthermore, Ngige drew the unions’ attention to a conciliation agreement earlier done by NUATE with officials of his ministry, in which they agreed on March 31 as the timeline for the consummation, wondering why such an agreement exists.

“But that is not the issue now. I know about your complaints and that is why I called all the stakeholders including the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) and the Federal Ministry of Aviation. I had discussed most of the issues with your employers, the Minister and the Permanent Secretary and we decided on a line of action. It is that this government, the President in particular, does not believe that we can disengage people.

“The President does not believe a worker is not due his remunerations in terms of salaries and allowances. That is why nobody can complain that we are owing salaries. Some allowances that have not been fine-tuned, once fine-tuned, the Government will pay because the President was a wage-earning person all through his military career. That is why he does not deal with anything pertaining to anybody being owed for work done.

“As long as I am the Minister of Labour, no Government agency will owe anybody salaries and even confirmed allowances. If you cannot pay all, the CBA negotiations allow you to do ability to pay at the time in question so that you can stagger payment. .But, we will agree on things today, put timelines on them and it will be done.” The Minister said.

On his part, Sirika said the agitation for the rights and privileges of workers is lawful and acceptable, especially under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which in its manifesto, entrenched the principle of social democracy, adding that the Government takes the issue of labour very seriously.

The minister however described the agitation as something in-house between the Ministry and its parastatals, which could be dealt with, hoping that the leadership of the unions will go back to their members with something that they will be happy about.

In their response, l the National President, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN), Ahmadu Ilitrus, who spoke on behalf of the workers called for urgent measures to address their demands.

He lamented that since 2019 when the Minimum Wage Bill was signed, no worker from the Aviation Ministry has benefitted from it.

He said many of the aviation workers had left service without benefitting from it, urging the Government to look back and ensure that those who deserve the payment were paid.

He also called for the approval/release of the reviewed conditions of service for aviation workers.

The ATTSSAN boss also appealed to the Government to address the issue of suppression of unionization in the aviation industry.

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