Airport Concession: Aviation unions urge FG to address labour-related issues
By Itohan Abara-Laserian
Aviation Unions on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to address labour-related issues before the take-off of the planned concession of airports across the country.
The unions made the call during a joint congress at the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Lagos.
The unions are the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP).
The National President of NUATE, Mr Ben Nnabue, said that the issues regarding labour unions in the industry had not been resolved.
Nnabue said they want clarity on how their conditions of service will be affected by the concessioning process.
He called on the federal government to cancel and to carry union members along in the process.
The unionist, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to stop the concession of Enugu Airport to allow for bidding from interested persons.
“We have also requested that to cherry pick the airport is not the best, because the value picked from one airport is used to better another airport.
“The plane cannot rise from one airport and come back to that airport; there are other airports that the plane will go to that will make that airport viable.
“We have to come back to the table and design a system that will work for Nigeria and not to cherry pick some good airports and concession them,” he said.
According to Nnabue, Nigeria’s constitution is against handing over public property to one company in terms of monopoly.
“Because if a particular consortium takes over the airport, it means that the airport will run on a monopoly.
“Another issue is for any state government that is interested in the airport should, like Lagos, get another place, and build their own airport,” he said.
Nnabue urged workers to remain steadfast in the struggle and not lose hope.
On his part, the President General of ANAP, Mr Adedayo Alale, called on the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), to revisit the concession process to advertise workers’ strike.
Alale, while commending the management of FAAN, said that after any renovation, the airport should be handed over to FAAN.
He said: “So, if the minister wants to do it in the right way, let there be national dailies advertisements for six months,” he said.
The Treasurer of NUATE, Safiya Araga, urged workers to support the movement as done by unionists before them.
Araga said there was a lot to lose if workers kept quiet with the recent issues in the industry.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the unionists held a procession from the FAAN headquarters to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT).
The workers carried various placards reading: “Say no to concession because it is to sack staff”; “Concession Committee to be driven by FAAN”; “Resolve FAAN pension issues now”; resolve labour issues before concession”.
NAN reports that while the government, through FAAN, has urged dialogue and collaboration, the unions remain firm in their demands for a transparent and worker-inclusive concession process.
The unions have emphasised that they were not entirely against concessioning but insist that the process must be fair and equitable to all stakeholders. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Benson Ezugwu/Sadiya Hamza
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