The unions gave a seven-day ultimatum after a two-day warning strike that halted the activities of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).Aviation unions in Nigeria have given a seven-day ultimatum to shut down the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.The Unions and their demands
The unions, including the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Employees (NAAPE), are demanding the implementation of conditions of service, halt in the demolition of aviation agencies’ offices in Lagos, payment of relocation allowances, among others.
On the first day of their two-day warning strike, the unions barricaded access roads and locked the offices of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The activities of these agencies were paralysed during the strike.
Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, General Secretary of ANAP, assured that after the seven-day ultimatum, they would proceed with a total shutdown, cutting Nigeria off from other countries. He explained that the aviation workers’ demands have not been met for eight years, and there is no check and balance in the aviation sector. Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has urged the workers to embrace dialogue instead of industrial action. It remains to be seen if the government will meet the demands of the aviation unions to avert a total shutdown of the MMIA.
