The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Caverton Helicopters

  • Aviation unions battle Caverton Helicopters over sack of 150 workers

    Aviation unions battle Caverton Helicopters over sack of 150 workers

    •Pilots, engineers petition presidency EFCC over alleged fraud

    Aviation unions under the aegis of National Union of Air Transport Employees  (NUATE)  are fighting leading rotary wing operator Caverton Helicopters over the sack of no fewer than 150 workers.

    The unions are irked over violation of agreements reached with Caverton before the job erasure was carried out.

    It was learnt the unions have vowed to ground operations of the company for alleged infractions on the terms of disengagement of its workers.

    NUATE accused the management of the company of gross insensitivity to the feelings of its employees.

    In a letter to the Federal Ministry of Labour, Commissioner of Police, State Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other state branches of the union, it demanded the company should return to the negotiation table with the affected staff. Dated November 3, 2016, with reference number: NUATE.GS/MD.CAVERTON/ENP/007-16, the letter was signed by Comrade Olayinka Abioye, General Secretary of the union.

    The union further accused the management of Caverton of breaching industrial harmony, warning that this may lead to an industrial crisis in the company.

    Investigations revealed less than two weeks after receiving the union’s letter, the company carried out the purge without paying required benefits.

    Concerned group of National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE) has petitioned the Presidency and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over the unfair and unjust treatment of Nigerian Pilots and Aircraft Engineers working for the firm, an indigenous helicopter service provider, supporting oil and gas industry.

    Leader of the group, Bola Yusuf, in a petition on behalf of the concerned group of NAAPE, alleged Caverton does not apply principles of justice and fairness in the manner it treats pilots and engineers.

    According to him: ‘’Salaries are delayed for several months, the conditions of service as signed by the union and management is not respected due to its “take it or leave it” principle.

    “Caverton deducts pensions and taxes from staff without remitting same to the pension fund and government, despite deductions shown on pay slips.’’

    Yusuf lamented while expatriates on Shell contract receive their pay on time, their Nigerian counterparts are owed several salaries.

    According to him, Nigerian pilots and engineers in Caverton are frustrated.

    ‘’The stress being experienced right now by the Nigerian pilots and engineers is capable of causing a catastrophic disaster, the scale of which cannot be predicted at this time.

    “The situation should not be overlooked by stake holders of aviation in Nigeria,’’ Yusuf lamented.

    In a letter to the General Secretary NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, on October 28, Caverton notified the union of plans to sack 150 employees.

    The letter was marked with reference number Ref:CAV/06/IR/01/10/16 and signed by the Industrial Relations Manager of Caverton, Mr. Segun Alebiosu.

    But rather than the approved severance benefits the company is supposed to pay to the affected staff, Caverton only agreed to pay one month’s salary instead of notice.

    This is in spite of the fact that most of the affected workers had spent more than 10 years with the company.

    The management insisted that the exercise was by the Section 20 of the Nigeria Labour Act, explaining that it took the step after a review of operational exigency and economic climate in the country.

    “This will affect a total of 150 staff across all cadres, inclusive of members of your union. Some operational levels within the organization have been approved to be outsourced.

    “The following are the offers to the affected staff: Accrued salary up to the effective staff; one month salary instead of notice and contributory pension up to the last full month.

    “We look forward to concluding this by November 10th, 2016 as the company will not be able to accommodate the overhead therefrom.

    “You have the assurance of the board and management of Caverton Helicopters that all affected staff shall be given the first option of refusal when and if there is operational demand for the position vacated,” the company’s letter stated.

    Attempts to reach the General Manager, External Relations, Joy Okebalama failed yesterday as the mobile phone was switched off.

  • Workers ground Caverton Helicopters over pay

    Aircraft pilots and engineers acting under the aegis of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE)  yesterday grounded the operations of Caverton Helicopters as part of the one-day warning strike to protest payment disparity in salaries between expatriate and Nigerian pilots and engineers.

    The strike affected the company’s offices in Shell, NAF Base in Port Harcourt, as well as Warri and Lagos.

    The warning strike which affected the operations of Caverton was enforced by NAAPE members.

    The warning strike was equally to express the union’s discomfort over the refusal by the helicopter company to commit to pay remunerations being converted from dollars to naira at prevailing inter-bank rate as previously agreed between the management of the rotary wing and NAAPE.

    Its General Secretary, Ocheme Aba, stated that it was worrisome that Caverton Helicopters is discriminating between expatriate and Nigeria pilots and engineers in the payment of salaries.

  • Caverton Helicopters wins ‘safety conscious contractor of the year’ award

    Caverton Helicopters wins ‘safety conscious contractor of the year’ award

    IN recognition of its 75 million Lost Time Injury (LTI) free man-hour, The Production Directorate of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria has awarded Caverton Helicopters the Safety Conscious Contractor of the Year Award.

    Caverton was nominated and won the award in the Medium and High Risk category. The justification for the award according to Shell: “Caverton Helicopters developed safety programs to improve staff safety culture. Raising the bar engagement sessions, Safety Survey and ‘Aim for Zero’ Campaign and actively ready to learn from previous incidents”.

    The award ceremony which took place at Shell Port Harcourt was received by the Base Managing Pilot on behalf of Caverton Helicopters. Caverton Helicopters is a subsidiary of Caverton Offshore Support Group PLC (COSG).

     

  • Atuche denies sale of Caverton Helicopters’ Afribank shares

    Atuche denies sale of Caverton Helicopters’ Afribank shares

    A former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, has denied  selling 820 million units of Afribank Plc shares belonging to  Caverton Helicopters Limited without authorisation.

    Atuche’s counsel, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) told a Lagos High court presided by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo that the acquisition of Afribank shares was actually a strategic plan by Bank PHB to take over Afribank.

    Mr Francis Atuche and a former director of the bank, Funmi Ademosun were charged to court for allegedly authorising the sales of Afribank shares worth N6.8 billion without Caverton Helicopter’s approval.

    Chief Idigbe told the court at the resumed hearing of Atuche’s trial that Caverton Helicopters involvement in the transaction was only to help  Bank PHB to achieve the objective of taking over Afribank.

    Atuche’s counsel made the clarification  after the  Managing Director, Caverton Helicopters,Mr Sola Falola, had told  the court that Bank PHB granted his company a N2.7 billion loan to purchase the shares.

    Falola who was undercross examination by Chief Idigbe, had also told the court that sometime in September 2008,  they discovered that the shares have been sold by the bank for a total sum of N6.8 billion and that they were not credited with the proceed of the transaction.

    Falola said the bank should have paid his company N4.1 billion as premium following the N6.8 billion sales.

    He said that his company  wrote to the bank demanding for its statement of account but has  not been given the statement till date.

    “To make things worse, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) published our name as one of the banks indebted to Bank PHB to the tune of N2.18 billion.

    But Idigbe while cross-examining Falola said the owner of the company, Mr Remi Makanjuola had on August  14, 2006, entered an agreement with the bank on the  transaction.

    Chief Idigbe  said the terms of the offer document clearly stated that the title of the shares would be in the name of Bank PHB as part of the agreement.

    “The loan granted to the company was a margin loan and the standard procedure in such a non-recourse transaction is that the shares can be sold without notifying them”.

    According to him, “since Caverton Helicopters did not invest any money in the transaction, the company was wrong to have petitioned the EFCC in the first place”.

    Idigbe said a total of 320 million units of Afribank shares were sold by the bank during the period, adding that the bank was unable to sell the remaining 500 million units.

    “So Caverton Helicopters cannot claim that their shares were sold because the shares were held in bulk.

    “They never invested in the transaction, they had no financial obligation and so cannot claim any premium from the sales of the shares”, Idigbe said.

    Further hearing of the matter has been adjourned.