The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Friday shut
down the offices of aviation agencies at the Murtala Muhammed Airport,
Lagos, over the delay in the release of their Conditions of Service.
The
union is protesting the delay in the release of the Conditions of
Service of all aviation agencies by the National Salaries, Income and
Wages Commission.
The union members were seen at about 6.30 a.m. on Friday carrying different placards and chanting solidarity songs.
They
barricaded the offices of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
(FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Also,
shut down were the headquarters of the Accident Investigation Bureau
(AIB) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) at the Lagos
airport.
However, the action did not affect flight operations at
the nation’s busiest airport as airlines and passengers went about their
respective businesses without harassment by the union.
The
National President, NUATE, Mr Ben Nnabue, told NAN that for quite a long
time the workers and the management of the aviation agencies had signed
the conditions of service but it had yet to be implemented.
“We have the Conditions of Service which is the agreement between the management and the aviation union.
“The
Conditions of Service stipulates that it should be reviewed every three
years and since 2015 this Conditions of Service has expired and the
renewal is not coming.
“However, we have actually agreed with the
new Conditions of Service with our management and we have forwarded it
to the Salaries and Wages Commission but for the past five years it has
not been implemented.
“So consequently, the spirit and morale of
the workers as a result of the non-implementation of the Conditions of
Service are very low and we felt that we have gotten to a stage where we
can no longer keep quiet.
“The union cannot just keep quiet
because, at a point, the aviation workers had felt that we had
compromised and we have to provide leadership,’’ he said.
Nnabue
said after this protest, the union would embark on a total strike if the
Salaries and Wages Commission failed to accede to their demands.
According
to him, this is just a minor protest we are embarking on and if after
today nothing happens, then we have to plan for a total strike for the
whole of the industry.
The NUATE boss said the strike would not
affect the operations of airlines as their management boards were
already implementing the Conditions of Service.
He said: “The
protest will not affect the airlines and ground handlers because we are
already handling the Conditions of Service with their management.
“Many
of them have given us good Conditions of Service while others are at
the point of signing it. At least 50 per cent of it has been
implemented.’’
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