News online
Civil aviation workers in Nigeria suspend strike action
6 November 2007
Aviation unions in Nigeria have suspended strike action over the government’s failure to pay entitlements owed to workers of a now defunct national airline after an agreement was reached last Wednesday.
Three civil aviation unions, among them the ITF-affiliated National Union of Air Transport Employees and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association, had planned to take strike action on 21 October. The unions were protesting over the government’s continuing failure to pay the statutory pensions and benefits owed to former employees of Nigeria Airways. The airline went into liquidation in 2004.
However, on 17 October the labour ministry called the union representatives to a meeting to discuss the issue. The Labour Minister stated that the President had approved the payments owed to the workers and that the funds would be disbursed “once the necessary processes have been concluded.” The unions, he stated, would be kept fully informed.
As a result, strike action has been suspended; the unions are hoping that the matter will be resolved within a month of the agreement.
Ingo Marowsky, ITF Civil Aviation Section Secretary commented: “Workers have been left destitute because they have not received their legal entitlements. We hope that the government honours this promise to pay the workers – which is what they should have done a long time ago.”
Back to current news online stories
|
view larger image
