The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria,TUC,has vowed to resist attempt by the federal government to ban strikes in the nation’s aviation industry.

Its President,Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo,who conveyed this in a press statement made available to Premium News on Wednesday,said banning strike is a serious threat to industrial peace and harmony in the country.

He advised the union’s members to be ready to carry out solidarity actions with striking workers in any sector if the government tries to criminalize such an action.

He assured Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATTSSSAN) members and aviation workers and all the working people of Nigeria of TUC’s solidarity and its readiness to side with them in all their legitimate disputes with government or employers in furtherance of their interests.

He added:”We advise the Buhari administration to concentrate on good governance, make petroleum products available, protect Nigerians against rampaging bandits and hyper-inflation and allow a peaceful transition of power rather than provoke unnecessary labour unrest.

“The TUC calls on all organizations including professional and market associations, student unions and civil society organizations to join in resisting government attempts to abridge the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people when that time comes”

Aviation Minister,Hadi Abubakar Sirika,had recently announced the ban on behalf of the Buhari administration.

But Osifo said the aviation law the minister refers to which he claims empowers government to ban strikes, cannot override neither the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria nor the fundamental rights of Nigerians to withdraw their labour if they deem it necessary.

He said:”This is unambiguously stated in the ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and the right to organize.Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) bans forced or compulsory labour which means no Nigerian citizen can be forced to work if he or she chooses not to work.

” Government and its handlers should always do everything possible to address issues of welfare raised by different unions and also respect the letters of any collective agreement that it entered into.This is the only way strike can be averted and not by any surreptitious or clandestine moves or pronouncements.

He punctured recent aviation minister’s claim that strikes are unnecessary because: “As a government, our ears are always open, the government is open to listening to any grievances and there are procedures for dealing with these kind of grievances”,saying the action sounds hollow. If indeed government listens, it

He maintained that government would have listened to Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATTSSSAN) members and the aviation staff’s long-standing demands rather than force them into a strike.

He said:”If truly government listens, it would not have allowed the universities teachers strike to drag on for eight months simply because it failed to honour an agreement it willfully entered into. And even after the strike was called off; it continues to withhold the unpaid salaries of the academics, which itself is provocative and unfair labour practice”.

According to him,strike in the aviation industry is not a peculiarly Nigerian issue;stressing that it is a right exercised universally by workers.

He added:”In the past few months, airport and airline staff in France, Belgium, Portugal and Italy have gone on strike. This same week aviation staff went on strike in Nigeria, their counterparts in some other countries also did. For instance, on January 25, 2023, aviation staff in Portugal and Germany went on strike while those in the United Kingdom have called a strike for February 1, 2023.It is wishful thinking for the Federal Government to think it can trample on the rights of Nigerian workers”

Energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group,is receiving applications into its prestigious Graduate Management Trainee (GMT) Program,a widely acclaimed platform for young professionals desirous of ‘Making A Difference’ (MAD) in the world.

Executive Director, Sahara Group, Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka,was quoted in a statement as saying that the program offers fast-paced growth within the organization evidenced by Sahara’s proven record of transforming young professionals into world-class experts.

She also said:“Today we have success stories of former GMTs who have grown into sundry leadership positions within the Group, reinforcing our commitment to continuous human capital transformation. Just like our previous GMT programs, each applicant that makes it through from this 2023 edition is set for a world of MAD opportunities in Sahara Group”.

Commenting on the implementation plan, Group Head, HR, Ivie Imasogie-Adigun, explained that the Sahara Group GMT program application would run from February 1st to February 15th, 2023.

She said:“We cannot hold our excitement here at Sahara as every GMT cycle heralds the addition of uniquely gifted young professionals to the Sahara Family, who are then given peerless platforms to hone and grow their skills across the energy sector value chain”

Imasogie-Adigun said the program was open to all young graduates across the globe aged 25 and below. “Sahara’s business is spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Consequently, Sahara offers a global platform and all our energy is geared towards making a difference. We call this being MAD, an attribute that continues to successfully drive Sahara’s vision of bringing energy to life responsibly,” she added.

The Sahara Group GMT Program offers beneficiaries challenging and evolving careers, unique mentorship opportunities, multicultural exposure, entrepreneurial acumen, unorthodox learning and development, self-discovery and mastery, as well as volunteering platforms that promote sustainable development causes.

Participants will be exposed to challenging real-life business scenarios in today’s rapidly evolving business environment with the added benefit of experiencing all of this within a globally diverse group of companies. There will also be opportunities to be part of an organization that believes in disruption as a tool for strategic development in today’s business world.

Describing the Sahara Group GMT experience,Ejiro Gray of GMT class 2007 who is now Director, Governance and Sustainability said: “Sahara Group is where you have the golden opportunity of discovering the best possible version of yourself. The GMT program I can confidently say, shaped and prepared me for what has been a remarkable journey. Every Sahara Group GMT is a potential world business leader”

The statement said minimum requirement for the 2023 Sahara Group GMT program is a second-class upper degree in any discipline.