The President of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ben Nnabue, has called for the automation of revenue collection in Nigeria’s aviation sector to end recurring disputes between airlines and government agencies.

Nnabue, who in an interview with The Guardian yesterday, stated this against the backdrop of recent industrial disputes in the sector.

The union leader proposed the establishment of a central electronic wallet through which all statutory collections, including the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC), would be automatically collected and distributed to beneficiary aviation agencies.

He posited that the proposed system, which could be managed through platforms such as Remita or the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), would eliminate the need for aviation agencies to continuously pursue airlines for revenue remittances.

Under the proposal, he emphasised funds paid into the central wallet would be automatically split among agencies such as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), according to their statutory percentages.

According to him, automation would improve transparency, eliminate leakages and accusations of selective enforcement, while allowing airlines and agencies to reconcile their accounts in real time.

He said: “The era of agencies chasing airlines to remit should end. Once the system automatically credits each beneficiary, the dispute over remittance disappears.”

The NUATE President also rejected allegations by some industry stakeholders that aviation unions were being deployed by government agencies to settle scores with private investors.

He described the allegation as incorrect and a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of trade unions in the aviation industry.

Nnabue insisted that unions were independent, registered labour organisations and not departments or appendages of government agencies.

According to him, aviation unions take instructions from their members and not from management of government agencies.

He cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organisation Conventions 87 and 98 as the legal framework protecting workers’ rights to organise and unionise.

He added that the history of aviation unions, including instances where they had shut down or picketed government agencies over workers’ welfare, was evidence that they could not be anyone’s tool.

He added: “The recent intervention by the unions was not aimed at helping agencies recover commercial debts from private investors, but was a response to non-remittance of statutory funds.

“The charges such as the TSC and CSC are statutory levies provided for under the Civil Aviation Act 2022. Airlines collect the funds from passengers on behalf of the Federal government and are expected to remit them to the designated agencies.”

He argued that the agencies had followed established procedures, including invoicing, reconciliation meetings, demand notices and enforcement notices, before the unions became involved.

He explained that aviation agencies were largely dependent on internally generated revenue to fund salaries, training, allowances and the maintenance of critical safety infrastructure.

“When private airlines withhold funds meant for government agencies for months, they are directly strangulating the agencies and directly affecting workers’ welfare and ability to earn their legitimate salaries,” he said.

He stressed that the unions’ action was therefore intended to protect workers’ jobs, salaries and welfare rather than to collect money on behalf of the agencies.