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Tag: NUATE

  • NUATE, Ethiopian Airlines sign pact

    NUATE, Ethiopian Airlines sign pact

    The Ethiopian Airlines branch of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has cancelled its planned industrial action following the intervention of the Federal Government.

    The union had threatened to embark on strike over the refusal of the management of the Airline to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement on the 13th-month salary, the non-promotion of workers, casual/contract staffing, and low remuneration.

    At the end of a conciliation meeting convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, the  NUATE and Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to meet within two weeks to discuss all issues in dispute and revert to the Ministry.

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    According to the agreement, a team comprising three representatives of the Union (NUATE), officials of Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Joint Aviation Trade Unions Forum shall attend the meeting.

    According to a statement by the Head, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Patience Onuobia, the agreement also stipulates that the process will be supervised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

    The parties also agreed that there would be no work stoppage before the next meeting.

    The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Ethiopian Airlines’ Area Manager, Nigeria, Firiehiwot Mekonnen; National Vice President, NUATE, Comrade Moses Unanaow; Deputy General Secretary, NUATE, Comrade Odinaka Igbokwe; representative of the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Abubakar  M. Sadiq; and Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations of the Ministry, Amos O. Falonipe.

    The labour and employment minister emphasised the federal government’s commitment to promoting decent work and industrial peace in all sectors.

  • Labour to picket airlines over refusal to unionise

    Labour to picket airlines over refusal to unionise

    The National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE) yesterday said it would picket airlines that have refused to allow their workers to join trade unions.

    NUATE said it is against labour law for some airlines to make employment conditioned upon not joining a trade union while those who threaten workers with sack if they join the unions are doing great violence to Nigerian laws.

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    Speaking at the “National Campaign for the Unionisation of Private Domestic Airlines in Nigeria” at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Monday, National President of NUATE, Ben Konye Nnabue told the workers that the union has received the backing of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) based in London in carrying out their actions.

    He said at the last global labour unions conference in Singapore, it was observed that a lot of organisations were not unionised hence the mandate to ensure that slave labour is eliminated on the African continent.

    Nnabue  said: “In Nigeria we have come to term with the reality that he majority of our domestic airlines don’t want their workers to join unions while some have allowed their staff to unionised. Others at the point of entrance warned their staff against joining any trade union of their choice.”

    “We have been on this for the past five years. We have reported to the Ministers of labour and that of aviation. All of them have been promising us that something will be done but you can’t be following up a project for five  years, it means that they want to do anything.”

    According to the NUATE National President, “At the last meeting, we had at the ITF, fortunately I am the Chairman of the ITF branch in Nigeria, the ITF is in full support of our action, they also sent representatives from London to come see what we are doing about it. That shows how serious the global body views the decisions of our airlines not to allow their workers to join the trade unions.”

    He warned: “This is the last olive branch we intend to extend to them, the next time we will have to use what the laws allow us to do, we will picket them, but we have to exhaust all the channel of dialogue first then we are at liberty to use the last resort which is to picket those organisations.”

    Also, NUATE General Secretary, Comrade Ocheme Aba affirmed that it will be in the good interest of airlines and organisations in the aviation sector to allow their workers to join the labour unions affirming that no airline that allowed their staff to join trade unions have gone under.

    Aba told reporters: “It is on record that in Nigeria apart from Nigeria Always that was deliberately murdered by the Obasanjo regime, there is no unionised airline that has gone under. All the airlines that have gone under in the country under were not unionised.”

    He explained: “An airline worker that is unionised, that has the backing of the union don’t cut corners, they don’t take orders from the owners to cut corners, they work according to the rules because if you give them a query, they will answer the query and if the company will carry out any action there is usually fair hearing so they are protected.

     “But those airlines that folded up are the ones that didn’t have any organised structure, no organised maintenance structure, no workforce structure, no director of administration, everything is one person in one office and that is why many of these people do not want unions because they want to do things as they like and we must also understand that a worker who does not have a negotiated terms of employment is just a paid slave.

     “Members of the union carried placards bearing inscription such as ‘To belong to a trade union is a right, no negotiation’, ‘the worker need trade union protection’, ‘workers rights are fundamental human right’, ‘a worker without negotiated terms of employment is but a slave’ and ‘every company must recognise the union. It’s the law.”

  • NUATE protests over service conditions

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees Unions (NUATE) is embarking on a nationwide protest over the delay in the release of the conditions of service in all aviation agencies by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

    According to a circular to aviation workers, the decision to embark on the protest was reached after an emergency meeting of all presidents and general secretaries, including key officers of the union in Lagos.

    The circular signed by Mr. Phillip Nkiru for the General Secretary read; “It was resolved that a nationwide congress of all workers in the aviation industry be converged” to express their dismay over the delay in their conditions of service by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

     

     

     

     

  • Stakeholders urge FG to beef up security at Lagos airport

    Stakeholders urge FG to beef up security at Lagos airport

    Stakeholders in the aviation sector have called on the Federal Government to beef up security at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, following recent alleged poaching of aircraft and stealing of baggage.

    They said on Monday in Lagos that security was the bottom line of aviation, hence the need to urgently address the issue.

    Mr Olayinka Abioye, General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees ( NUATE ), noted that such incidents were not good for the image of the country.

    “This is not a good story for the country.

    “We know that no outsider can come into the airport except maybe people that have been disengaged or maybe workers that are presently working at the airport but are being owed salaries and benefits.

    “Imagine a worker working in a security company, earning N40, 000 as salary, is approached by a passenger with 1,000 dollars to smuggle an illegal substance into an aircraft.

    Read also: Truck hits Air Peace aircraft at Lagos Airport 

    “Some of them will do the dirty job willingly but when such workers are given commensurate remuneration and benefits, they will not be easily enticed,” he said.

    Abioye urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA ) to immediately invite all the security service providers to a round table where their operations could be properly reviewed.

    Also, the President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr Gbenga Olowo, said there was need to centralised security at the airport and also deployed technology in strategic areas.

    “Today, we have Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ), Immigration, Air Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ), Directorate of State Security ( DSS ) and Police

    “We should centralised security at the airports. ART has been talking about this for some time because we must take the best model of aviation security by removing it from many hands.

    “We should stop these various agencies from setting up their individual desks. So, we should centralise security and deploy technology.

    “When you deploy technology, you don’t need a separate counter for narcotics or DSS because once you get to immigration, all your details will be there,” he said.

    NAN

  • Aviation union to FG: Halt airports concession plan

    Aviation union to FG: Halt airports concession plan

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), has urged the Federal Government to immediately halt its plan to concession the four major airports in the country.

    The union made this known in an eight-point communique issued at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Ilorin, Kwara.

    A copy of the communique which was signed by NUATE’s General Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had on Sept. 6, told newsmen that there was no going back on the concession of the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports.

    Sirika had argued that the move would ensure that the airports were properly managed, while the government would still retain their ownership.

    Abioye’s communique faulted the plan to concession the four airports which it described as the cash-cow out of the 22 airports owned by the Federal Government.

    “The NEC in-session therefore calls for immediate stoppage of the concession of Nigerian airports to avoid industrial crisis that may arise as the government has failed to carry along stakeholders on this germane matter,” he said.

    He urged the aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), to improve the welfare of their workers.

    Abioye’ also advised government to appoint a substantive managing director for NAMA and restructure its directorates in consonance with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

    On the state of the economy, the communique advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to take more concrete steps toward alleviating poverty across the nation.

    “The NEC in-session sympathises with the government over the continued slide to recession of the nation’s economy but encourages it to remain focused in its quest for nation building.

    “This can be achieved by engaging more in social dialogue with critical stakeholders in the country and setting the machinery in motion to deploy experts into freeing our economy from the jaws of economic recession,” he added.

  • Rehabilitate airports’ facilities, Union urges minister

    Rehabilitate airports’ facilities, Union urges minister

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Friday urged the new Minister of State for Aviation, Capt Hadi Sirika, to concentrate on rehabilitating infrastructure and facilities across the airports in the country.

    NUATE’s Acting General Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Abioye said that facilities in some of the nation’s airports were also obsolete and needed upgrading in line with international standard.

    He said that the country could not be at par with the international community if the country’s point of entry were in an obsolete state.

    “We wish that the new minister of state for aviation will inspect the facilities and infrastructure at all the airports in the country,” he said.

    Abioye urged Sirika to ensure the completion of the ongoing construction of new airport projects in the country as a matter of urgency.

    According to him, the aviation minister should ensure stability and sustainability of the aviation industry as the industry still remains one of the engine rooms of the Nigerian economy.

    He said more foreign direct investment (FDI) would come into the country if Nigeria should put necessary infrastructure in place in the aviation sector.

    Abioye also called for the restructuring of the various aviation agencies and parastatals to enable them perform their statutory functions effectively.

    He said, “As I speak, there are more support staff than the productive ones in the industry.

    “This cuts across the parastatals and we need to look at a way to streamline this critical area for efficient delivery of aviation service to the airport users.”

     

  • Union faults aviation ministry merger

    Union faults aviation ministry merger

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Wednesday faulted the scrapping of the Ministry of Aviation by the Federal Government.

    The Assistant General-Secretary of NUATE, Mr. Olayinka Abioye, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    The Federal Government had on Tuesday merged the ministry with the ministry of transport as part of the restructuring of the public service.

    Abioye argued that the merger did not make economic sense and might cost the nation a lot of money in future.

    “Our position has always been that it doesn’t make economic sense for these ministries to be merged.

    “Our argument is that it makes no difference because the structure of the ministry of aviation will still remain.

    “The only difference that we see is that there will be one minister and may be a minister of state.’’

    He recalled that on two occasions, the ministries were merged under former President Olusegun Obasanjo but were reversed to the status quo in order not to destroy the sector.

    The unionist said it would have been better to restructure various agencies in the ministry to cut cost and improve efficiency.

    “We will make our position known to government but we are not going to attack government.

    “We believe that we will work together to ensure that the sustainability and turnaround that everybody is wishing for the industry comes to pass,’’ Abioye added

  • Airways’ ex-workers seek payment of N70b benefits

    Airways’ ex-workers seek payment of N70b benefits

    Former workers of the liquidated national carrier, Nigeria Airways Limited, yesterday urged the Federal Government to pay their 20 years’ severance benefits.

    They said their colleagues in other countries had received their benefits nine years ago.

    The workers gathered for prayers at the secretariat of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Ikeja, under the aegis of the Aviation Union Grand Alliance (AUGA).

    They mandated the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other unions to write President Goodluck Jonathan on their plight.

    One of the union leaders, Comrade Ibrahim Husseini, said the government would need about N70 billion to offset the severance benefits of the former workers and pensioners, which had been pending in the last nine years.

    Husseini described the attitude of the government to the plight of the former workers and its refusal to pay them their dues as gross insensitivity.

    He said many had died because they did not have money for their health care.

    According to him, many of the retirees beg to feed themselves.

    The union leader described as discriminatory the payment of full benefits to some former workers of the liquidated airline outside Nigeria.

    Husseini named some of such stations as New York, London, Rome and Cote D’Ivoire.

    He stressed that after the payment of five years’ severance benefits from the 25 years being owed the retirees by the late Umaru Yar’Adua administration, there had not been a positive response from the government to the requests of the retirees.

    The TUC, the ATSSSAN and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) yesterday wrote to Jonathan to revisit their matter in the interest of peace in the Aviation sector.

    The letter, by Comrade Aba Ocheme, the secretary general of NAAPE, urged the President to intervene in the matter.

    The letter, titled: Delay in the Settlement of Terminal Benefits of ex-Nigeria Airways workers – Appeal for Mr President’s Intervention, reads: “May we also emphasise the determination and resolve of Aviation unions towards a wholesome resolution of the issue.

    “This is an irresolute duty we owe them, considering that their toil and contributions did sustain our union in their days…”

  • NUATE, others meet

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), aviation elders and aviation interest groups yesterday held a closed-door meeting on the controversial N255 million armoured cars allegedly bought for Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah.

    The union, which comprises the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), barred reporters from covering the meeting held in Abuja.

    They had invited the reporters to the event, but shut them out shortly before the meeting started at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.

    The organisers said the meeting was no longer to be covered by reporters.

  • Aviation unions shelve strike

    Aviation unions shelve strike

    • Govt inaugurates committee on issue

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) have shelved their strike.

    This was based on resolutions reached at a meeting by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu and the head of the unions, including the management of the Nigeria AirspaceManagement Agency (NAMA) in Abuja.

    The unions had threatened to embark on strike because of poor welfare.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the Special Assistant to the Aviation Minister on Media, Joe Obi, said it was agreed that due notification was not given to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity on the dispute.

    It said: “The meeting consequently resolved that: (i) the issue of determination of the basic salary and other allowances for the staff of NAMA concerned shall be taken up by a Committee to be headed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation

    “(ii) To be included in that Committee are the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC). Other members are to be worked out by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation including the number of Trade Union membership.

    “(iii) the time frame for the work of the Committee shall be concluded within a reasonable time as was deliberated upon and agreed at the meeting.