Five major aviation unions in the country have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look into the staff Conditions of Service (CoS) of aviation agencies that have been operating without valid staff Conditions of Service (CoS) for many years.
The unions also appealed to President Tinubu to take a second look into the concept of 40 percent deduction from the financial accruals of the aviation agencies as prescribed by the Finance Act 2022.
The unions are National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE); Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN); Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP); National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
In a letter dated 19th June 2023 addressed to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which was copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Head of Service of the Federation; Ministry of Aviation; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Chairman Salaries and Wages Commission and DG Budget Office, the aviation unions stated that, despite having concluded Management-Unions review of the CoS many years back, the National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission (NSIWC), Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and the Budget Office have continued to hold their members’ hostage “by their dereliction of duty and plain inhumanity to man.”
According to the unions, for the past decade, the unions have cried and shouted themselves hoax over this matter to no avail, adding that despite several interventions by the then Minister of Aviation and the Minister of Labour, the above-mentioned Federal agencies have remained unperturbed and remorseless on the issue.
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In the letter jointly signed by Frances Akinjole, principal deputy general secretary, ATSSSAN; Ocheme Aba, general secretary, NUATE; Abdul Rasaq Saidu, Secretary General, ANAP; Umoh Ofonime, Deputy General Secretary, NAAPE, and Sikiru Wahab, General SecretaryAUPCTRE; the unions stated that “We feel restrained by the fact of the newness of your administration, and the likelihood of misinterpretation of any strike action against the government in our airports at this critical point in time. On the other hand, we are under severe pressure to secure amelioration of this impasse by the long-suffering of the affected hapless workers.
“It is because of the above that our Unions passionately and humbly seek your golden intervention to call to order all the agencies involved that are using the instrumentality of government to wreak havoc and cause untold hardship on our members in the aviation industry”.
This plea is predicated on the need to avert the imminent danger that will befall the aviation sector in the event that the aviation agencies become incapacitated and unable to render their safety-related functions.
This is because, even the full financial accruals of the agencies are grossly inadequate in meeting the financial obligations of the agencies, and are normally supplemented by the Federal Government on an annual basis.
It is important to note that all aviation agencies are mere cost recovery organizations and absolutely non-profit. Therefore, the deduction of a whole 40 percent from their financial accruals is akin to the removal of life support from the agencies.
“On the basis of the foregoing, we humbly request Your Excellency to exempt aviation agencies from the deduction in order to preserve the vital safety functions of the same agencies without which the industry will collapse with its catastrophic impact on the national economy.
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