Unions insist on strike, ask passengers to make alternate plans

Aviation unions in Nigeria have said there would no going back on the total showdown of aviation activities in the country on Monday and Tuesday.

This is as they urged passengers to make alternate plans.

The unions had earlier in a notice to their members across airports in the country and aviation agencies issued a two-day warning strike to press home their demands for workers entitlements.

Their demands include approval and implementation of the agreement Condition of Service, (CoS), as agreed between them and the agencies by the Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Others are; non-implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NiMet since 2019 and the planned demolition exercise of all the agency buildings in Lagos by the Minister of Aviation for an airport city project.

Ocheme Aba, secretary general, National Union of Transport Employees, NUATE, said, all that the unions want is not an appeal or negotiation but implementation of their demands.

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”Nothing has changed as at this moment so, for now there is tangle on ground from my point of view. It will be a total shutdown across all airports in the country, we express our regret that this unfortunate thing will affect some innocent passengers. Unfortunately, we don’t have any option at this moment but for sure it will affect travel and that is why we gave our notice early enough so that people could make alternative arrangement”.

Abdulrazak Saidu, Secretary General, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, ANAP, emphasized that, if the two-day warning strike failed to achieve its purpose, they would embark on an indefinite strike.

”There is no going back. We have written to the foreign airlines, to the government and we are tired. The condition of service issue which had lasted for almost eight years has not been resolved and so there is no going back on our warning strike.

“If the warning strike last without action, we will go to indefinite strike and so heaven cannot fall. We want them to pay NiMet minimum wage consequential adjustment with arrears and to release the whole condition of service of over seven years ago, otherwise, we will embark on indefinite strike”.

The scribes of the unions are the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees are currently meeting in Lagos to mobilize for tomorrow’s commencement of the two-day warning strike.

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.