Five-point resolution reached as government moves to settle outstanding charges and workers’ unionisation concerns….
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, is set to brief President Bola Tinubu on the outcome of a meeting between aviation sector unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) over the lingering dispute surrounding the Ticket Sales Charge.
The development followed an emergency meeting convened by Keyamo on Thursday in Abuja, days after the unions suspended their industrial action which disrupted flight operations at major airports across the country.
The meeting, which lasted several hours, produced a five-point resolution addressing the unions’ concerns over outstanding TSC payments by airlines, workers’ freedom to join trade unions and measures to prevent further disruption to aviation operations.
Keyamo, who was out of the country, participated virtually via Zoom and presided over the deliberations.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mahmud Kambari, was subsequently directed to prepare two separate communications: a comprehensive briefing for President Tinubu detailing the dispute, deliberations and resolutions reached, and a public statement outlining the outcome of the meeting.
According to the statement issued by the ministry, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies are to obtain payment schedules from airlines with outstanding TSC obligations.
The payments are to be spread over a reasonable period, taking into consideration the airlines’ operating costs and prevailing economic conditions.
The statement added that Directors of Finance and Accounts across the aviation agencies would meet individually with the affected airlines within one week to agree on realistic repayment plans.
The contentious issue of workers’ unionisation was also addressed, with Keyamo affirming the right of aviation workers to independently decide whether or not to belong to a trade union.
Consequently, the NCAA was directed to ensure that unions have direct access to workers across all airlines for the distribution of membership forms.
Under the resolution, workers are to make their decisions on union membership without interference from airline management. The ministry warned that any airline that obstructs unions from having direct access to its workers would face sanctions from the NCAA.
The parties further agreed to reconvene after one month to assess the implementation of the resolutions and review the state of the dispute.
The ministry said the five resolutions represented the collective decisions reached by all parties at the meeting.
The resolution on outstanding payments stated that the NCAA and heads of other aviation agencies should obtain payment schedules from indebted airlines, with the repayment period reflecting the airlines’ operating costs and current economic realities.
It further directed the Directors of Finance and Accounts of the aviation agencies to meet individual airlines within one week to agree on realistic repayment arrangements.
On unionisation, the resolution stated that workers had the right to choose whether or not to belong to unions and should be allowed to make such decisions independently of their employers.
The NCAA was therefore directed to facilitate direct interaction between unions and workers across all airlines solely for the purpose of distributing membership forms. Airlines that prevent such access, the ministry said, would be sanctioned.
The unions had embarked on industrial action on Tuesday over several grievances, including allegations that some airlines had failed to remit the five per cent TSC to the NCAA and claims of interference with workers’ attempts to unionise.
The action, which particularly affected Air Peace, disrupted flight operations and left hundreds of passengers stranded at airports.
Following interventions by the Federal Government and other stakeholders, however, the unions suspended the action and agreed to continue negotiations with the affected parties.
At Thursday’s meeting, Keyamo assured stakeholders that the government remained committed to resolving the dispute without compromising the safety, efficiency and viability of the aviation sector.
He also reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to maintaining a “safe, efficient, peaceful and sustainable aviation industry.”
However, it was gathered that the meeting had initially been scheduled by the aviation authorities, but members of the AON allegedly failed to attend.
The Managing Director of Aero Contractors was also said to have indicated that he would have attended if the invitation had been addressed directly to him as an airline operator rather than to the AON.
He explained that an individual airline might have a position different from that of the operators’ association and therefore requested that future invitations to such meetings be sent directly to each airline.
“Whenever the NCAA wants an airline to attend a meeting, they shouldn’t write to the AON; rather, they should write to the airline. If the meeting is that important, the DG should sign a letter requesting that each AOC holder attend. For instance, if I have a different view from the AON, I won’t attend such a meeting. It is very simple,” he said.
Following the request, the minister immediately agreed that invitations should be addressed directly to individual airlines in future engagements.
