Aviation unions to embark on nationwide protest
…Urge FG to save industry from financial collapse
A coalition of aviation unions, including the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), has announced a nationwide protest to take place on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
The unions, in a joint statement signed by Comrade Ocheme Aba (NUATE), Comrade Abdul Rasaq Saidu (ANAP), Comrade Frances Akinjole (ATSSSAN), Comrade Olayinka Abioye (NAAPE), and Comrade Sikiry Waheed (AUPCTRE), directed all workers of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to participate in the peaceful protests at airports nationwide.
The unions are protesting against the Federal Government’s decision to deduct 50% from the internally generated revenue of these aviation agencies. They argue that these agencies, being cost recovery rather than profit-making organizations, cannot survive on half of their incomes under any administrative model.
“All our efforts to persuade the Federal Government to exempt these agencies from the deductions have failed,” the statement read. “We have information that some critical safety activities of the agencies are grinding to a halt under the burden of these deductions. Therefore, as trade unions and workers in the aviation sector, we must alert the public and the government that we will not be held responsible if the industry becomes dysfunctional due to financial incapacity.”
The unions called on all their State Councils, Women Commissions, Youth Councils, and Branches nationwide to mobilize fully for the protests and ensure complete participation to save the aviation industry from collapse.
