As airline operators under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have announced a halt in their operations with effect from Monday over the high cost of aviation fuel, workers in the aviation sector have also declared a two-day warning strike scheduled for the same day (May 9) and Tuesday.
Already, all workers of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NiMET) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) have been directed to embark on a warning strike over the non-implementation of conditions of service.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) were also issued the notice to the affected aviation agencies.
They are demanding justice and equity, especially considering the long-suffering, patience and forbearance on the part of their members which they said had reached a new height.
In a statement jointly signed by NUATE General Secretary, Ocheme Aba; ANAP General Secretary; Abdul Razaq Saidu, and AUPCTRE General Secretary, Sikiru Waheed, stated that the Conditions of Service for NAMA, NCAA, NIMET and NCAT workers had not been implemented seven years after negotiation.
In addition, they said the Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment remain unimplemented since 2019.
It would be recalled that they had earlier declared a strike in February before it was suspended following the intervention of the Ministries of Aviation and Labour and Productivity.
They lamented that the ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Aviation and the NSWIC to resolve the issues do not show any positive sign of achieving amelioration at any time within sight.
They said if nothing concrete comes up after the warning strike they would declare a total strike.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, has appealed to the members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria to rescind its decision to shut down its operations due to the high cost of aviation fuel.
AON, the body of domestic airlines, had issued a notice to shut down operations by Monday citing the skyrocketing price of Jet A1 which now costs N700 per litre.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives had earlier in March intervened on the high cost of Jet A1 with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Melee Kyari summoned.
As a follow-up, there was a meeting of the airline operators and fuel suppliers facilitated by the NNPC and one of its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority which agreed on selling a litre for N500.
