Photo Credit: Allen Onyema / Air Peace / The Sun Nigeria (File Photo)
Air Peace Chairman Warns Labour Unions Against Plan to Ground Airlines
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Onyema, has warned aviation labour unions against carrying out their threat to picket domestic airlines over alleged debts.
Onyema said Nigerian airlines have no dispute with organised labour, stressing that their engagement is strictly with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Speaking on Wednesday in Lagos at the public presentation of “Pathways, Pilgrimage and Destiny”, the biography of Medview Airlines founder, Muneer Bankole, Onyema described the unions’ threat as an aberration.
The unions had warned that airlines owing outstanding Ticket Sales Charges (TSC) to the NCAA would be picketed.
Responding, Onyema said domestic carriers have always honoured invitations from the regulator and complied with its directives, adding that there is no conflict between airlines and labour to warrant industrial action.
He said: “We don’t have any business with any union. We have business with the NCAA, and we have been complying with everything the NCAA has directed us to do. If they want to shut down the industry, we are waiting for them.”
Onyema alleged that vested interests were attempting to use industrial action to further their own agenda at the expense of an already fragile aviation sector, noting that airlines in Nigeria operate under excruciating conditions, borrowing at 30-33% interest rate while battling challenges like bird strikes and inadequate infrastructure.
He warned that any attempt to use unions to intimidate airlines would set a bad precedent and threaten safety, urging the world to watch developments in the sector.
“If anyone thinks they can use a union to intimidate airlines in this country, they are wasting their time. The airlines are already struggling,” he said.
He added that if airlines are forced to shut down, hundreds of thousands of workers would lose their jobs.
Source: The Sun Nigeria –