Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige
Aviation unions call off planned strike, reach agreement with FG on CoS implementation
Planned industrial action by aviation unions over implementation of the minimum wage/consequential adjustment and approval of the reviewed Conditions of Service (CoS) set to begin Tuesday, has been suspended following an agreement reached with Federal Government.
The suspension of the strike follows an agreement reached by the Unions with the Federal Government as it was agreed that the implementation of the contentious CoS would now commence from March 31, this year.
It would be recalled that the aviation unions on February 2, issued an ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the six aviation agencies over failure to release negotiated CoS since 2013 or face an industrial action on Tuesday, February 8.
However the strike was called off as Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige brokered a resolution between all unions in the industry and the Ministry of Aviation in the early hours of Tuesday, February 8, 2022 in Abuja.
The unions representatives including President, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Abednego Galadima, National President of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Illitrus Ahmadu, National President of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ben Nnabue, National President of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Kabir Gusau and the National President of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service and Technical Employees (AUPCTRE), Benjamin Anthony, signed the agreement.
Others in attendance were the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Labour and Aviation, the chairman of the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), representatives of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations (TUSIR), Budget Office of the Federation and the Head of Civil Service.
On the issue of non-implementation of the minimum wage/consequential adjustment, the NSIWC was requested to issue a Service of Wide Circular informing all organisations in the public and private sectors that they are bound to implement the wage and adjustment and the Ministry of Aviation is to circulate same to all agencies under its supervision, requesting them to implement it without further delay and also clarify that the payment became effective from April 18, 2019 when the minimum wage was signed into law. The meeting agreed that those that have exited the system during the period to date would also be paid arrears.
On the reviewed conditions of service of the agencies under the Ministry of Aviation, the meeting agreed that the financial aspect for NAMA and NCAA would be resolved by the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) by the third week of February.
On NiMeT, the gathering was informed that the financial implication has been approved by the PCS and the implementation process has been concluded except for hazard allowances which would be reconsidered by the NSWIWC on a sectoral level.
The meeting was also informed that the CoS for FAAN has been released since 2019 but there were issues which were observed and has been forwarded to the Ministry.
