Sirika leads striking aviation workers to wages commission

By Ukpono Ukpong, Abuja

In a bid to ensure that industrial harmony is restored in the aviation sector, the Minister of state for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika has appealed to the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to hasten the process of delivering a new condition of service to the staff of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Sirika made the call when he led the leaders of joint aviation unions to the Chairman of the commission, Chief Richard Egbule in Abuja.

According the minister, the move was in a response to the industrial action declared by unions in the aviation sector to demand for a new condition of service among other things.

Our correspondent recalls that the unions including, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) had on Wednesday, shut down activities at the offices of NCAA nationwide to press home their demands.

They demanded among other things, the review of the staff condition of service, returning to the original organogram of NCAA and inauguration of the board of the authority.

Sirika told the salaries and wages commission chairman that he came to urge the commission to speed up the process of delivering a new condition of service to aviation staff.

He said the move was necessary because of the essential nature of services the staff render to the nation, adding that embarking on industrial action was not good for the industry.

The minister explained that he had swung into action immediately on Wednesday by granting two of the three demands put forward by the unions, adding that the issue of the condition of service was not within his ministry’s purview, hence the visit to the commission.

“We appealed to them on Wednesday that out of the three demands, we would resolve two and that we were working toward the third one. They understood and left happily, but we heard that the staff back there in Lagos were unhappy with them and passed a vote of no confidence on them.

“We will appeal to them that what they are doing is an essential service. They have been assured by the chairman, they should take his word and believe us as leaders of this ministry because we have always walked our talk,’’ he said.

Egbule, however, assured the minister that the commission would take proactive measures toward producing a condition of service that would be acceptable to the workers.

While commending the minister for his commitment to staff welfare, he described Sirika as the first minister in the country to have ever visited the commission in respect of staff welfare.

Branch Chairman, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Sofolahan Ayodele, expressed appreciation to the minister and the commission for their commitments toward resolving the current impasse.

Ayodele noted that never in history had any minister taken the issue of condition of service serious since the inception of NCAA, asserting that “this shows that the minister has the love of the staff at heart and we want to thank the minister for this privilege.’’