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...Accuses them of targeting Air Peace
The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) has criticised the industrial action carried out by aviation unions on Tuesday, describing the action as disruptive and selectively targeted, and accusing the unions of disregarding an ongoing mediation effort led by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
In a press statement signed by its President, Air Commodore Ademola Onitiju, (rtd), the ASRTI said that while unions have the right to advocate for their members’ welfare, picketing airlines’ non-remittance of Ticket Sales Charges and Cargo Sales Charges to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was inappropriate.
The group argued that enforcing statutory penalties and recovering debts owed to regulatory bodies is the responsibility of the Federal Government and its agencies, not organised labour.
The body also raised legal objections to the industrial action, citing Section 29 of the Civil Aviation Act, which it says designates services supporting flight operations, passenger boarding and cargo handling at aerodromes as essential services where industrial actions are prohibited.
It further referenced Section 18 of the Trade Disputes Act, stating that striking while a dispute is under official mediation, or before dispute-resolution procedures are exhausted, is unlawful.
The ASRTI added that pressuring workers over union membership infringes on the constitutional right to freedom of association, given that union membership in Nigeria is voluntary.
The group condemned the unions’ decision to target Air Peace specifically, calling it evidence of bias from a group that claims to champion fairness.
It maintained that any airline accused of obstructing staff unionisation should be confronted at its corporate headquarters rather than at airports, where operations affecting unrelated businesses and travellers are disrupted.
ASRTI warned that the disruptions damage public confidence in Nigerian aviation and sends a negative signal to international investors, given the sector’s sensitivity to instability.
The group urged unions to immediately suspend the industrial action and pursue their grievances through appropriate legal channels.
It also called for all parties to allow the ministerial mediation process to proceed without further coercion, insisting that debt recovery between the NCAA and airlines should remain a strictly regulatory matter that does not affect the travelling public or uninvolved operators.
The statement read: “The enforcement of statutory penalties and the recovery of debts owed to regulatory agencies remain the exclusive statutory mandate of the Federal Government and its empowered institutions, and the Nigerian Labour Congress and its allies have clearly overstepped their bounds.
“The rules of engagement and understanding of issues must drive how unions fight or advocate for a cause, not through the use of coercion, intimidation, or disruption.
These actions directly contravene core tenets of Nigerian law designed to protect critical national infrastructure. Under Section 29 of the Civil Aviation Act, all services facilitating safe flight operations, passenger embarkation, and cargo handling within aerodromes are explicitly designated as essential services, strictly prohibiting strikes, lockouts, pickets, blockades, or service disruptions of any kind within regulated aviation facilities.
”Furthermore, pursuant to Section 18 of the Trade Disputes Act, declaring or participating in a strike while a trade dispute is actively undergoing official mediation or before statutory dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted is explicitly illegal. Under Nigerian labour jurisprudence, trade union membership is strictly voluntary, and coercing, intimidating, or targeting employees or selecting individual corporate entities for disruptive blockades violates the constitutional freedom of association.
”The ART has maintained severally that disruptive or unbridled labour activism has no place in the aviation sector, which is not only heavily regulated but volatile and sensitive to disruptions.
”We unequivocally stand against picketing at airport terminals and their immediate environs. Travel disruptions are not only distressing for passengers who have paid for the services but send negative signals about Nigerian aviation to potential investors and the international community.
”We also perceive the unions press release threatening to picket airlines owing the Ticket Sales Charges and Cargo Sales Charges and those perceived to be hindering their staff from participating in union activities as not only abusive but arrogant.
”Any airline perceived to be hindering their staff during a strike or picketing should be approached at their corporate head office, not in or around the sensitive airports where other businesses are disrupted.
”Premeditatively singling out Air Peace Airline for disruptive picketing shows clear bias from a group that claims to preach fairness.”
