Coalition of aviation unions has urged the current administration to review the Finance Act 2022, which mandates the remittance of 40 per cent of financial accruals of agencies to the Federal Government.
The group, made up of five aviation unions, also tabled the protracted conditions of Service (CoS) of aviation agencies for an urgent review.The unions, which has the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), stated in a memo to the president that the 40 per cent financial rule has continued to stifle development in aviation, while 13 years wait for CoS impoverish the workers.
They alleged that despite having concluded management cum unions’ review of the CoS many years back, the National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission (NSIWC), Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and the Budget Office have “continued to hold our members hostage by their dereliction of duty and plain inhumanity to man”.
In the last decade, the unions stated, the workers cried and shouted themselves hoarse over welfare, adding that despite several interventions by the then Ministers of Aviation and Labour, the federal agencies were allegedly unyielding on the issue.
In the letter jointly signed by the Principal Deputy General Secretary, ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole; General Secretary, NUATE, Ocheme Aba; Secretary General, ANAP, Abdul Rasaq Saidu; Deputy General Secretary, NAAPE, Umoh Ofonime, and General Secretary, AUPCTRE, Sikiru Wahab, the unions stated that they felt restrained “by the fact of the newness of your administration, and the likelihood of misinterpretation of any strike action against the government in our airports at this critical point in time.”
But on the flip side, we are under severe pressure to secure amelioration of this impasse by the long-suffering of the affected hapless workers.
“Your Excellency Sir, it is because of the above that our unions passionately and humbly seek your golden intervention to call to order all the agencies involved that are using the instrumentality of government to wreak havoc and cause untold hardship on our members in the aviation industry,” the letter read in part.
The coalition added that their pleas were predicated on the need to avert the imminent danger that would befall the aviation sector if the aviation agencies become incapacitated and unable to render their safety-related functions.
“This is because, even the full financial accruals of the agencies are grossly inadequate in meeting the financial obligations of the agencies, and are normally supplemented by the Federal Government on a yearly basis.
“It is important to note that all the aviation agencies are mere cost recovery organisations and non-profit. Therefore, deduction of a whole 40 per cent from their financial accruals is akin to removal of life support from the agencies.
“It has sadly become obvious that both the Ministry of Aviation and the Ministry of Labour and Employment seem overwhelmed by the task of getting the conditions of service released. Based on the above, we humbly request Your Excellency to exempt aviation agencies from the deduction to preserve the vital safety functions of the same agencies without which the industry will collapse with its catastrophic impact on the national economy,” the memo read in part.
