Nigerian aviation workers threaten strike

The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has issued a one-week ultimatum to the Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to cause the release of promotion letters of all members of staff who passed the last promotion examination or face industrial action.

In the letter signed by the union’s Secretary General, Olayinka Abioye, NUATE also petitioned the Ministry of Transportation, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command, and other unions, saying it had placed other branches on alert on its plan to shut the agency should the agency not accede to its demands.

The statement said that consequent upon the complaints arising from the recently released promotion letters to members of Staff of the authority, and bearing in mind that peace of mind of the worker translates to industrial peace in the workplace, they were compelled to draw the attention of management to the “unwholesome and unacceptable outcome” of the last promotion exercise.

The exercise, it said, left several suitably qualified members of staff out of being promoted in spite of the fact that they qualified to be invited to such promotion exercise and passed their relevant examinations.

Mr. Abioye said after due consultations and in-depth investigations, they were highly disappointed and shocked by the processes adopted by the Management to promote a “few” out of the “meritorious lot” that ought to have benefited, thereby creating unnecessary panic, mental agonies and anxiety within the NCAA.

“We make bold to state that a disgruntled worker is an accident waiting to happen and considering the mere fact that NCAA carries very heavy responsibilities on its shoulders, more so at this critical stage in the industry, workers in the Aviation House, should ordinarily be carried like eggs, pampered like newborn babies and treated with dignity and respect, being staff/members of the regulatory house,” he said.

“We have a situation where a staff, who has been an AGM since 2008 was promoted to DGM ‘effective’ 2017 whereas his date of promotion ought to have been 2011.
What manner of administrative crookedness and injustice is this? Such an individual should be preparing for consideration and promotion to being a General Manager?

“Wittingly or otherwise, rather than open up space for suitably qualified members of staff to enjoy the benefits of their long “sufferings/perseverance” over the years in their contributions to the success of the authority, Management blocked their ways by engaging in antics unbecoming of a first class parastatal.”
Mr. Abioye stated that in the same vein, management has not been able to explain how and why someone without any knowledge and, or, background in air transport would be brought into the system and placed on GL16, at the expense of more suitably qualified personnel?
“Why should someone be posted to the NCAA from another agency when the NCAA or the individual did not request for such? Why is the authority silent on this untidy development, which has deprived qualified personnel in the NCAA from occupying such position?
The union, therefore, added that their members had been placed on the alert to await further directives on its next line of action after the letter, unless and until management accedes to their demand.
The NCAA was yet to react to the allegations as at the time of this report.