The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has appealed to aviation workers’ union to embrace dialogue over its planned strike action scheduled for September 18, 2024, regarding concerns raised by the unions within the aviation sector regarding the deduction of 50 percent of internally generated revenue (IGR) at source by the government.
The minister, in a statement on Thursday, assured that he wants to assure all stakeholders that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is looking into the concerns raised.
“We understand the strain this has placed on the sector’s ability to address critical safety and operational needs, and we take these concerns very seriously.
“We wish to assure the unions and all stakeholders that, the Honourable Minister of Aviation and His Excellency, Mr. President, are fully aware of the situation and are working diligently to find a resolution. The government is committed to ensuring that the aviation sector continues to operate efficiently and safely.
“In response to the concerns, the ministry has scheduled a meeting with the leadership of the unions on September 17, 2024. This meeting will provide a platform to openly discuss the issues at hand and allow His Excellency, Mr. President, sufficient time to intervene and address the unions’ concerns comprehensively.
“In light of this, we appeal to the unions to reconsider their planned peaceful protest on September 18, 2024, and allow for dialogue to take place. We believe that through constructive engagement, a mutually beneficial solution can be reached, ensuring the safety and sustainability of the aviation sector.
“We thank the unions for their patience and understanding and assure them that their voices are being heard and their concerns are being addressed.”
Earlier, the unions had put out notice to disrupt activities in the Nigerian aviation industry next Wednesday, following their planned protest over the continuous deduction of the industry’s agencies 50 percent internally generated revenue (IGR) into the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Four aviation agencies are affected by the TSA policy. They are the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).
The unions, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), have directed their members to join the planned strike in a bid to force the government to remove the agencies from the TSA.
The joint circular, which was dated September 11, 2024, was signed by their Secretaries-General, Comrades Abdul Rasaq, ANAP; Olayinka Abioye, NAAPE; Sikiru Waheed, AUPCTRE; Ocheme Aba, NUATE, and Frances Akinjole for ATSSSAN.
The unions directed members in the NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, NCAT, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to embark on peaceful protests at all airports nationwide on September 18, 2024, to demand the discontinuation of deduction of 50 percent from the IGR of the agencies.
The unions declared that all efforts on their part to appeal to the government to remove the agencies from the TSA had proved abortive, insisting that all the agencies are cost recovery, and not profit making organisations.
They insisted that the agencies could not survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration, or any other guise whatsoever.
They lamented that since the forced deductions started, some important safety critical activities of the agencies are being ground to a halt.
They noted that it had become incumbent on them and workers in the sector to raise the alarm of dysfunctional equipment caused by financial incapacity of the agencies due to the deductions at source.
