The aviation sector in Nigeria is on the brink of a major disruption as workers have announced a nationwide strike scheduled for August 21, 2024.
This decision comes in response to the Federal Government's persistent deduction of 50% from the internally generated revenue (IGR) of key aviation agencies.
The affected entities include the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
In a letter dated August 14, 2024, titled “Save Aviation From Collapse” and released to journalists on August 15, 2024, the unions expressed their grievances and outlined their demands.
They stated, “All workers of the NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, NiMet, NCAT and NSIB, joined by the solidarity of all aviation workers are hereby directed to embark on peaceful protests at all airports nationwide on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, to demand the discontinuation of deduction of 50% from the internally generated revenue of the agencies mentioned above through exemption.”
The unions argue that these deductions are unsustainable for agencies designed for cost recovery rather than profit-making.
They emphasized, “All efforts on our part have failed to impress it upon the Federal Government that all the Agencies are cost recovery, and not profit making, organisations. As such they cannot survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration or any other guise whatsoever.”
The financial strain imposed by these deductions has already begun to compromise critical safety activities within these agencies. The unions warned, “Information available to us indicates that some important safety critical activities of the Agencies are grinding to a halt under the yoke of the deductions.
It has, therefore, become incumbent on us as trade unions and workers in aviation to let the public and the government be aware that we shall bear no responsibility in the certain event that the industry becomes dysfunctional as a result of financial incapacity due to the deductions at source.”
In preparation for the protest, the unions have mobilized all state councils, women’s commissions, youth councils, and branches of their unions nationwide to ensure widespread participation. This mobilization signifies the severity of the situation and the potential impact on the operational integrity of the aviation sector.
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