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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has called on industry unions to embrace dialogue and give peace a chance with the Federal Government over the plan to concession some airports.
The unions have continued to kick against plans by the Federal Government to concession some key airports in Nigeria.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had promised that there would be no job loss in the concession arrangement, but the unions seem not to trust the minister.
The unions include the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Air Transport Employees.
During their congress last week at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the unions kicked against the concession documents that emanated from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
The PUNCH gathered that the document showed the exclusion of the unions’ representatives against an earlier agreement. The unions, therefore, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to reverse its decision.
However, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a statement, said the unions had raised concerns during the workers’ congress over the non-inclusion of their members in the ongoing airport’s concession committee deliberations and the delay in implementing the negotiated consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage, among other things.
She said these issues were presented to the minister during an interactive meeting with aviation unions last week.
According to her, the minister had directed immediate inclusion of the unions’ representatives in the concession committee to ensure transparency, emphasising that the unions got full information as the concession process was ongoing.
Orah also stated that Keyamo assured the unions that he would step in to ensure the immediate implementation of the new salary review for the staff of FAAN.
“FAAN remains resolute towards implementing her core values. The authority is also working with the minister to maintain cordial relations with the aviation unions as continuous dialogue and understanding are better alternatives in addressing industrial issues,” the agency stated in the statement.
During last week’s congress by the unions, all FAAN offices and gates were locked, and no worker was allowed into the agency.
Addressing the workers, the President of NUATE, Ben Nnabue, said the unions learned that the government was going ahead to concession some airports in a manner that was not known to any of them.
He said the minister had told them that he was not going into concessions, but that the unions were surprised to see documents on concessions from the ministry.
Nnabue said the unions had lost confidence in the management of the agencies attending meetings with the minister.
Also, the President of ANAP, Adebayo Alale, said the minister told all the union leaders that all labour issues would be resolved before concession.
Alale said the process of concessioning of the Enugu airport was almost concluded, while that of Port Harcourt and Kano had also been planned.
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