Unions shut down NCAA

Aviation unions and workers on Wednesday shut down NCAA over faulty organogram. The industrial action commenced in the early hours. It was the first time the authority will be shut down since 2000, when NCAA was established. The gates leading to the headquarters in Lagos was under lock and key.

The protest was nationwide in all NCAA regional offices in Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. Leader of the unions, Illutrus Ahmadu said the crisis was avoidable if not for the carelessness of NCAA Management. But, spokesman of NCAA said the unions need to follow laid down procedures for any industrial action. He said the issues raised were beyond the powers of the authority. The Ministry of Transport has invited the feuding parties to Abuja for a meeting.

The unions are: Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE). Others are the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE). The unions blocked the entrances of the NCAA headquarters and its annex office,  chanting solidarity songs.

 They also carried placards with inscriptions such as “Collapse organogram structure’’, “Our Mumu don dooo’’ and “Our demands: expanded organogram, staff, friendly condition of service, negotiated staff health and insurance policy’’. However, their protest did not disrupt flight operations at the nation’s busiest airport as airlines and their passengers were allowed to go about their businesses unhindered.

Speaking on their behalf, the Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Mr Francis Akinjole, said the indefinite industrial action followed the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to management to resolve the issues. “We did not choose this date because we gave them a seven-day notice which expired on Monday and the unions had reviewed it; and we decided that the best thing to do is to carry out this action. This is because the management is of the opinion that we will never do anything and that is how they have been doing for a while now,” he said.

Akinjole noted that the immediate cause of the protest was promotion because some workers sat for promotion in NCAA in 2017, they passed but the management said there was no vacancy. He noted that the only means the management could manufacture vacancy was by reviewing the organogram that had been used since the inception of NCAA. Akinjole said the present organo gram was even outdated because the staff strength had increased which even needed further expansion.

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