By Eberechi Obinagwam
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) under the new leadership of Comrade Joe Ajaero has warned Air Peace, Ibom Air and Dana Airlines over refusal to allow it’s workers to join union.
NLC president gave the strong warning to the airlines on Wednesday during his visit to the Nigerian Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) in Lagos.
Comrade Ajaero after hearing the challenges from the union’s president, said: “Gve us a date to shut down the airlines that refused their workers to unionise. We have done it in the past. If they don’t allow their workers to unionise, they will cry.”
Just like he told other unions he visited earlier that complained of casualisation, outsourcing indecent jobs that was going to set an anti casualisation committee, he told NUATE that him and his team we have a collective group from all the unions that will form professional picketers. “will hold people dealing with workers accountable,” he said.
Earlier, the NUATE President, Comrade Ben Nnabue, while speaking on the challenges facing the union, said that Arik Airlines, Azma Airline refused their workers to unionise, stressing that it is a big challenge in organizing the local airlines.
He added that they need more explanation from the government on the proposed national carrier.
“There are some issues we want the government to explain because they cannot afford to run a national carrier and the entire management will be foreigners, it is no longer a national carrier. The government needs to bring out the agreement they have with these people,” he said.
In another vain, NLC president at his visit to the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) at the office of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Lagos assured them that no one can concession the industry without paying entitlement.
According to him, ”Anybody that takes over this place as a concessionaire is spending money for nothing. We have passed through privatization and so we know how it works and we know the dangers, so they are joking.”
About the Minister of Aviation illegalizing the unions in aviation, he said, “It’s a joke. The Minister has no powers to do that without him following due process”.
Pledging his support to the union, he disclosed that all these issues would have been addressed by the board assuming it was in place.
Earlier, ANAP’s General Secretary, Saidu Rasaq, while tabling the unions challenges to the NLC president said the absence of a properly constituted governing board in all parastatals of the industry had created a lot of avoidable challenges which has had a negative effect on welfare of workers, efficiency of airline operators and other major aviation stakeholders.
He noted that the issue had been presented before the national assembly which confronted the Minister of Aviation, claiming that there was an interim board overseeing their operations.
Rasaq also decried that the board made up of only the Minister, permanent secretary and Chief executive of the board was wrong in its operation as it does not comply with the Act guiding their establishment and concerns over poor management of the aviation industry owing to the lack of governing board of directors in parastatals agencies for over 7 years.
Speaking also on the challenges facing the unions said, mentioned the demolition of office buildings of FAAN, NAMA and others in Lagos for the airport city project called Aerotropolis and the concessioning of five major international airports.