The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given airlines operating in Nigeria one week to agree on realistic repayment plans with aviation agencies over their outstanding financial obligations.
The directive was part of resolutions reached at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened by Keyamo on Thursday to address the recent industrial dispute between aviation sector unions and some airlines.
The meeting followed the temporary suspension of industrial action by aviation unions on Tuesday, August 11, which disrupted operations at some airports across the country.
The meeting was attended by representatives of airlines, aviation sector unions and heads of aviation agencies.
According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mahmud Adam Kambari, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies were directed to obtain payment schedules from airlines, taking into consideration their operating costs and prevailing economic realities.
It said the Directors of Finance and Accounts of all aviation agencies were to meet individually with the affected airlines and agree on realistic repayment plans within one week.
The resolution is aimed at addressing financial obligations owed by airlines to aviation agencies while preventing the disputes from escalating into further industrial action and disruption of air travel.
The stakeholders also reached an agreement on the contentious issue of unionisation among airline workers.
The minister affirmed the right of workers to decide whether or not to belong to trade unions, stressing that such decisions should be made directly by the workers rather than through airline management.
Consequently, the NCAA was directed to ensure that aviation unions have direct access to workers of all airlines solely for the purpose of distributing union forms to enable employees to indicate whether they wish to unionise.
The ministry warned that any airline that prevents the unions from having such direct access would face sanctions from the NCAA.
The stakeholders further resolved that another meeting would be convened in one month to review progress made in implementing the resolutions and assess the state of the aviation sector.
The statement described the resolutions as collective decisions of all parties at the meeting.
The minister, while assuring stakeholders of the Federal Government’s commitment to a safe and viable aviation sector, reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to maintaining a safe, efficient, peaceful and sustainable aviation industry.
The latest intervention comes after the aviation unions temporarily suspended their industrial action following the disruption of flight operations at some airports on Tuesday.
The dispute had heightened concerns over possible disruptions to air travel and the financial pressures facing airlines operating in the country.
(The Whistler)