The much-discussed statewide strike called for by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (NLC) today did not materialise in the nation’s aviation industry.
The NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, was brutalised by some thugs in Owerri, Imo State, two weeks ago. The Nigerian Tribune’s investigations reveal that all of the aviation unions declined to participate in the protests led by the two national bodies.
As one navigates the Lagos airport, flight operations and other operations within the airport and its surroundings proceeded without incident, with other aviation employees going about their job as usual.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), one of the unions that was once at the forefront of these protests, is currently in Benin, Edo State, getting ready to elect its new executives, demonstrating that aviation unions are unaffected by the most recent strike.
Other unions, such as the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), showed no dedication to the nationwide demonstration.
Flight operations proceeded as of the time this report was filed, with aircraft landing and taking off without obstructing human or vehicle traffic.
The industry’s rejection of the protest may have something to do with the poor outcomes and widespread censure that met the previous demonstrations, which brought down flight operations at airports, especially those in Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri.
Passengers endured incomparable suffering as a result of the protest that resulted in the complete closure of the airport entrances, and airlines lost incalculable money as a result of having to postpone, cancel, or alter their flights.
Important figures, like as Mr. Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, have denounced the unions’ persistent political targeting of the industry through their national structures.
