By David Lawani, Abuja
The Federal Government has brokered a fresh understanding between airline operators and aviation sector unions following the industrial dispute that temporarily disrupted flight operations at some Nigerian airports on Tuesday.
The intervention came as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, convened an emergency stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday involving airlines, aviation unions and heads of aviation agencies.
The meeting, according to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mahmud Adam Kambari, was convened as a follow-up to earlier engagements between the unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) regarding the suspension of the industrial action the unions embarked on on August 11.
After extensive deliberations, the stakeholders agreed on measures to resolve outstanding issues and restore greater harmony within the aviation industry.
One of the major resolutions requires the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies to obtain payment schedules from airlines indebted to them, with repayment spread over a reasonable period.
The repayment arrangements, the stakeholders agreed, must take into consideration the cost of airline operations and the prevailing economic realities in the country.
The Directors of Finance and Accounts of the various aviation agencies were also directed to meet individually with affected airlines and agree on realistic repayment plans within one week.
The meeting also addressed the contentious issue of workers’ unionisation, with Keyamo affirming the right of individual workers to decide whether to belong to a trade union.
Under the resolution, the NCAA is to ensure that aviation unions have direct access to workers at all airlines to distribute union forms to employees who may wish to indicate their intention to unionise.
The minister, however, stressed that the decision to join a union must be made directly by the workers, not by airline management.
The NCAA is expected to sanction any airline that prevents unions from having such direct interface with its workers.
The stakeholders further resolved to reconvene after one month to review progress made in implementing the agreements and assess the prevailing situation in the sector.
The Federal Government said the resolutions reached at the meeting represented the collective decisions of all parties involved.
The development followed Tuesday’s industrial action by aviation unions which caused temporary disruption to operations at some airports and heightened concerns over industrial relations within the sector.
Keyamo, while assuring stakeholders of the government’s commitment to a safe and viable aviation industry, reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s resolve to promote a safe, efficient, peaceful and sustainable aviation sector.
The latest intervention is expected to ease tensions between airline operators and workers’ unions while providing a framework for resolving financial and labour-related disputes that could affect the smooth operation of Nigeria’s aviation industry.
