Ken Okeke
The Director-General, DG, of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu has pleaded with the Aviation workers’ Unions to suspend their action.
The DG, made the appeal at meetings with the Union members, which started from April 16th, 2023 and another on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 with the Salary and Wages Commission along with all Aviation Agencies Chief Executive Officers and their Heads of Finance Department.
However, the meeting with the Salaries and Wages Commission is for the examination of their various account books with a view to determining whether or not the increases in salaries being demanded could be accommodated in their various Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs).
The outcome of this meeting will be forwarded to the Head of Service of the Federation for consideration and approval, he said.
He also pleaded for more time and understanding of the Union.
On passengers’ delay and refund of airfares whenever flights are delayed or cancelled, the DGCA explained that such situations have been taken care of in the ongoing amendment of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015.
The Aviation workers’ Unions had on April 17th, 2023 embarked on a two-day warning strike that witnessed workers locked out at the various offices of the agencies and disruption to flight movement nationwide.
They were resolute in their agitations and had concluded plans to totally ground the sector after seven days if their demands are not met. Consequently, offices of agencies of the Ministry of Aviation in Lagos, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) were under lock and key as the industrial action entered its second day on Tuesday.
For the second day, Unions laid siege at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport ( MMIA) which led to heavy traffic leading to the Airport where the unions vowed that seven days after the end of the warning strike they will totally shut down Nigeria Airspace.
