Nigeria’s four major aviation unions announced on Wednesday that they will cease operations in the sector on February 8, 2022, due to the Federal Government’s failure to release negotiated aviation agency service conditions since 2013 and the non-implementation of the National Minimum Wage/consequential adjustment since 2019.
Flights and related activities would be suspended, according to a notice of industrial action signed by leaders from the unions and distributed to aviation personnel.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees, the Nigerian Air Transport Senior Staff Association, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees are among the unions.
“By this notice, all airlines, ground handling companies, aviation security/logistics, in-flight catering, and other aviation-related businesses, as well as the traveling and general public, are hereby notified that aviation services will be unavailable as from the given time until the issues are fully resolved,” they declared.
“As you are all aware, our unions variously issued ultimatums to the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the six aviation agencies over the vexed issues of failure to release negotiated conditions of service of the agencies since 2013 and the non-implementation of minimum wage/consequential adjustment since 2019.
“All the ultimatums expired January 31, 2019, without the demands being met in any form. The meeting called by the Federal Ministry of Aviation on the same January 31, 2013, did not resolve the issues as there was no clear assurance from the ministry/managements’ delegation towards meeting our genuine demands.
The six agencies include the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigeria Meteorological Services Agency, Accident Investigation Bureau, and the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology.
The unions urged the managements of FAAN, NCAA, NAMA, NiMet, AIB, and NCAT, as well as the Federal Ministry of Aviation, to take advantage of the one-week window to avert the looming crisis by pressuring the relevant government agencies to work together to meet the workers’ twin demands.
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