NUATE Faults FG’s Proposal for Concessioning Airports

Chinedu Eze

The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) yesterday faulted the proposal of the federal government to concession four major airports in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

NUATE, consequently, asked the federal government to review its plan on concession and the welfare of workers who would be affected when investors take over the management of the nation’s four major airports.

This was revealed in a statement NATURE’s President, Ben Nnabue issued yesterday to commemorate Workers Day, saying the union “stands by the decision of workers not to accept the proposals by government agencies on the aforementioned issues.”

In his statement, Nnabue said the union “is not satisfied with ongoing discussions around airports concession, as government has not made it clear that it had accepted the workers proposal on their severance payment after the take over of the airport facilities.

“The twin big issues of minimum wage consequential adjustment and conditions of service for the aviation agencies are currently raging. We stand firmly by the decision of workers not to accept continuing shifting of the goal post by government agencies on these issues.

“Therefore, this week has been set out for major decisions and subsequent decisive actions that will bring these issues to a foreclosure. In a similar vein, our union is not satisfied with ongoing discussions around the big question of airport concession.

“We are unclear as to the government’s actual response to the demands of aviation unions on labour issues and many lapses in the concession program.

“In the coming weeks, important decisions will be made to chart a clear path towards ameliorating already stated demands of workers,” the union’s president said.

He lamented that the union was frustrated with the prevarication of government and the attitude of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in attending to the negotiated redundancy benefits of ex-staff of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), a matter pending since 2009.

He said: “Let me assure the affected ex-workers that the unions have gone so far and cannot retreat on the matter at this point. We are at the verge of final solution, failing which we shall take decisive actions towards seeking justice for the victims.”

“We are presently battling the vexed issue of back hand catering by some foreign airlines. We are receiving the ears of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the matter; the reason we tarried on it in the last one month or so. We are definitely committed to seeing an end to the unwelcome act in the interest of local in-flight catering services companies.

“We use this medium to call on the Minister of Aviation to urgently review his Aviation Road Map. We hold the view that the projects under the Road Map require significant adjustments to harmonise them with current realities in the world of aviation and our national interest.”

The union therefore called on the federal government to urgently address the serious shortcomings of the newly commissioned international terminal at MMIA, Lagos in order to put the terminal to use.

He added that it would be “a major disservice of this administration should the terminal turn out to be a white elephant project. This must be avoided at all costs.”