By Chinelo Obogo
The National Assembly has directed the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to halt the planned demolition of aviation agency offices in Lagos.
In a statement by the joint committee on aviation headed by Senator Christine Olujumi and House of Representatives member, Sirika was directed to halt the planned demolition of the offices of the aviation agencies in Lagos following the two-day warning strike embarked by aviation workers’ unions which disrupted flight operations across the country on Monday and Tuesday.
In the letter which was dated April 18, 2023, the chairmen of both aviation committees expressed concern over the frequency of industrial actions and the attendant disruption of flight operations in the country.
They noted that most of the issues causing the agitation were not new and wondered why they have continued to linger, since some of them have been in contention for many years.
The letter also directed Sirika to furnish the committees with all the documents pertaining to the sundry issues raised by the workers which include: Non implementation of the cosequential adjustment to national minimum wage by some of the agencies as agreed in February 2022; non release of reviewed condition of service by the relevant government agencies for about a decade and continuous threats of outright demolition of the Lagos offices of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) headquarters without alternative provisions for their regional offices.
“The letter read in part: “In order to prevent further escalation of the crisis as envisaged by the failure of the Federal Ministry of Aviation to address the issues within this warning strike period , we are directed to request that you furnish the committees with the following information:
“Comprehensive details of all issues under contention; actions taken by the ministry and its agencies to address the grievances of the workers; challenges in implementing the various agreements reached with unions any other documents that are germane to the subject matter.”
Meanwhile chairmen of both committees have also implored the unions to shelve any more actions that will further prevent smooth running of the sector, promising that their grievances would be duly addressed.
On Monday, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria , Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreation Services Employees (AUPCTRE), withdrew their services from airports across the country as they commenced a two-day warning strike over the non-release of the reviewed Conditions of Service negotiated among four aviation agencies for over seven years as well as the planned demolition of the Lagos offices of some agencies.
On Tuesday, aviation workers were locked out as the unions picketted the offices of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), NAMA, FAAN and the NCAA, blocked major roads and laid siege at strategic places around the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, causing heavy traffic gridlock leading to the airport.