Unions in the Nigerian aviation industry have threatened to thwart the emergence of Nigeria Eagle, a new carrier being floated by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) if the welfare of Arik Air workers is not adequately taken into consideration.
They also faulted the management of Arik Air for neglecting its members in the airline, claiming that 60 per cent of their members were yet to be recalled to work, despite the improvement in the fortune of the airline to the pre-Covid-19 period.
Comrade Ocheme Aba, General Secretary, National Union of Air Trasport Employees (NUATE),who spoke sduring an open congress of the unions in Lagos noted that AMCON was in receivership of two airlines;– Arik Air and Aero Contractors with a 60 per cent shareholder in the latter and wondered why the same corporation wanted to float another airline, when the fortunes of the existing two airlines under its receivership had not improved.
He alleged that the aim of AMCON was to create a window of business opportunity in order to recoup its heavy financial losses through the heavy debts in Arik and Aero.
He said: “We have it on good authority that AMCON’s real intention is to sidestep the debt overhang, particularly in Arik air, while continuing to make money from the airline business without any real capital injection.This it intends to achieve by moving all valuable assets of Arik Air, including human asset, into the new NG Eagle. The questions are ‘what become of the carcass of Arik Air and its personnel after such evil wind?’”
He claimed that AMCON had already moved some personnel of Arik Air to NG Eagle ,while keeping mum on the service records of such personnel in Arik Air.
He accused AMCON of arrogating to itself the power to probate and reprobate on all issues pertaining to status of employees in the new business, with complete disregard to subsisting collective bargaining agreements and relevant labour laws.
The union,he said, had notified the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of the numerous anti-labour activities in the airline through AMCON, adding that the unions would not paralyse activities in the airline if all efforts to address the labour issues in the airline failed.
“This issue of workers being at home endlessly when the condition of the airline has improved beyond pre-Covid-19 period is not acceptable to us. Now, they are feeding on the blood of their workers, helping the airline to be alive while their workers die.While committing the societal aspects of this brazen effrontery to the court of public opinion, and urging urgent intervention by appropriate government agencies – Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Aviation, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and others, we have raised the labour aspects before the management of Arik Air as trade disputes.
“Should the management raise itself to the needed open mindedness and heartedness then we are willing and desirous of resolving them amicably as expected of progressive social partners. Then we shall welcome NG Eagle with our solidarity song and pop champagne,” he added.
