Business
More troubles for Arik, as unions picket, stop supply of Jet A1
In what looked like a surprise action, four trade unions said they have embarked on indefinite occupation of the corporate headquarters of one of the local airlines, Arik Air.
They insist they would not vacate the airline’s premises until its sacked workers are reinstated.
The unions, comprising of United Labour Congress (ULC), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), said they had been having labour-related issues before the airline’s financial insolvency led to its take over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Major among the issues in dispute, they claimed, include arbitrary sacking of more than 1, 500 of their members by management.
General Secretary of NUATE, Mr. Olayinka Aboye, in a phone interview alleged that the management of the airline took everybody for granted by sacking its workers without carrying the union leaders along.
The unions, despite heavy police presence, have refused to leave both the headquarters and fuel loading depot of the airline, both at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja since Wednesday.
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Aboye said the unions had secured the cooperation of sister Unions at oil marketers’ units not to supply Jet A1 (Aviation fuel) to the airline, pending the resolution of the matter.
“We have been giving the airline reasons on the implications of embarking on mass sack of its workforce, but it seems all of that are not being respected.
“They (management) have forced us to the wall and we have no option than to ground their operations through the ongoing picketing,” the union scribe stated.
Other issues raised by the unions, included allegation that the new management had through a circular in late February warned the workers not to join the unions in the industry.
Other vexed issues were: failure to review condition of service, non remittance of necessary deductions to their respective unions and non payment of retirement benefits to sacked workers.
It could be recalled that the unions, in December 2016, had raised some issues with the former management of the airline, which led to the shutdown of its operations before the intervention of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), leading to the suspension of the strike.
The coordinator of ATSSSAN, Comrade Sonny Alagabgona, put it this way: “When we learnt that AMCON had taken over the airline, after a series of meetings with management, we gave time for issues to settle down.
“As expected from responsible union bodies, we wrote a letter to the new management seeking for a meeting with them, which was approved.
“We got to that meeting and the Receiver Manager, Mr. Oluseye Opasanya, acted in an uncivilized manner. He walked out the union leaders through his bodyguards.
“Contrary to expectations, a circular was issued by the Vice President Human Resources of the airline to the effect that Arik workers should shun unionism because the airline has zero tolerance for trade unions.
“The same management has written a petition against the unions to the Inspector-General of Police, claiming that we threatened his life.
“The workers want to join the unions, which they have the right to do by the Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and International Conventions.
But a spokesman of the airline, Mr. Bidemi Lawal, in a phone chat said nothing called for the unions’ action.
“No industrial dispute is resolved by picketing, meaning that we will go back to the round table conference to have all issues sorted out, “Lawal said.
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