Unions may strike Arik Air Thursday
The unions had in September; two months after the resumption of domestic flight services due to Covid-19 pandemic grounded the operations of the airline on the same issues.
This is as the Ministries of Labour and Aviation and top officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had waded into the crisis in the airline.
As at the time of filing this report, a meeting between the four unions; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and management of Arik Air, were in a meeting at the NCAA headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
Also, workers of the airline on Tuesday thronged the venue of the meeting with various banners and inscriptions to display their anger against the management.
Some of the inscriptions read: ‘Arik Air management, stop keeping workers at home,’ ‘Arik Air, AMCON management, end slavery in Arik,’ ’90% of Arik Air staff are at home without pay,’ ‘Arik Air (in receivership) end bad management of staff, staff welfare is poor,’ ‘Arik Air management (AMCON) Pension arrears and condition of service are non-negotiable,’ and ‘Arik Air/AMCON management, stop keeping us at home. Pay us off!!!’ among several others.
One of the members at the meeting, who didn’t want his name in print, told our correspondent that the unions were protesting against the terminal benefits of workers, poor condition of service and several others, vowing that if the issues were not addressed, the unions may be compelled to picket the airline on Thursday.
One of the staff at the NCAA gate who gave his name as Charles in an interview with our correspondent, decried the poor working condition of staff at the airline. According to him, he had spent about 10 years in the airline, but was yet to get any benefit from the company, alleging that his contributing pension fund like others was not remitted appropriately.
He appealed to the management of the airline to remit to the appropriate quarters all his benefits, stressing that the management was never sincere with the workers. When contacted, Mr. Adebanji Ola, the Communications Manager, Arik Air, confirmed that a meeting between the two parties was ongoing at NCAA office.
Ola, however, said that he was not aware of the impending picketing of the airline on Thursday by the unions. He said: “I am not aware of any picketing. But, I am aware that a meeting between the unions and our representatives was ongoing at the NCAA office.”
