Flight disruption looms as NLC pickets Turkish Airlines today

There may be flight disruptions and cancellations as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will Tuesday commence the picketing of Turkish Airlines in Lagos.

The picketing is in a bid to make the carrier reinstate staff that were allegedly dismissed, forced to abandon duty or forced to resign, including those victimised for their union membership in 2020.

The NLC in a notice of picketing of Turkish Airlines in Lagos signed by Chris Ufot, its Acting General Secretary, stated that all affiliate unions in aviation are particularly charged to mobilise heavily for the picketing action without fail, adding that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council is to stand by in case there becomes a need to escalate the matter to Abuja airport.

According to the group, Turkish Airlines management had continued its determined bid to exterminate the union, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) from the airline.

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It noted that in this latest onslaught, the management had dismissed seven out of eleven members of the union without benefits under trumped-up charges, using a disciplinary committee constituted outside the dictates of the prevailing condition of service as negotiated with NUATE.

More provoking according to the NLC is the plan to get rid of the remaining four members to pave the way for the engagement of new staff who would be compelled not to join the union or in the alternative procure a General Sales Agent (GSA).

By the above action of unjustified dismal of their workers, the management of Turkish Airlines was said to have allegedly put to waste ten, fourteen years of service. “And fate has befallen these hapless workers purely on account of exercising their constitutional right to belong to a trade union. Congress will not tolerate this situation.

“Therefore, the Lagos State Council of NLC is hereby directed to commence picketing of Turkish Airlines in Lagos with effect from May 21, 2024, until all staff of Turkish Airlines who have been sacked, dismissed, forced to abandon duty, or forced to resign under duress, including those victimized for their union membership in 2020, have been fully restored to their jobs without any losses of any kind,” the statement by the labour union read.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.