Stakeholders in the aviation sector have described as outrageous and
false the claim that foreign airlines plan to sack over 2,000 workers,
insisting that the airlines do not have such number on their staff.
Reacting to the issue, aviation consultant and former corporate
affairs manager of Nigeria Airways, Chris Aligbe, insisted that there is
no way the foreign airlines will have up to 2,000 Nigerian workers.
“This has been the issue we have been handling for some time now
because these people come into Nigeria and employ mostly foreigners,
while our own people are not considered. Now they claim that they have
about 2,000 staff; from where did they come from?
SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NG
“I don’t know where this story came from but all I can say is that
all the staffers of the foreign airlines are not up to 1, 500, and this
is the reason why we are calling for a national carrier so that no
airline can hold us to ransom,” Aligbe told our reporters on phone
yesterday night.
According to an industry watcher, who gave his name simply as Ade,
“the foreign airlines contribute nothing to Nigeria’s economy whereas
domestic airlines, such as Arik Air, provides over 2,000 direct
employment for Nigerians. The foreign airlines employ just a handful of
Nigerians, mostly as contract staff.”
He stressed that as a solution to the problem, the government would
have to put in place a ‘fly Nigeria Act’ that would make it mandatory
for government officials to fly only Nigerian airlines to destinations
where they operate.
“The government needs to protect the local airlines from the
domination of foreign airlines. Foreign airlines are highly protected by
their respective governments but this is not the case with local
airlines,” he noted.
Also, one of the workers with one of the foreign airlines who pleaded
for anonymity said: “It is very unfair to claim that the foreign
airlines have over 2,000 workers. What we have here are mainly casual
workers, who are not full staff and when you calculate the total number
of all of the full staffers, I know we will not be up to 2,000.”
LEADERSHIP Sunday had reported how foreign airlines stifle growth of
indigenous carriers through increased fares on various international
routes they operate.
Findings revealed that despite the fall in the value the naira for
sometime, fares charged by Arik Air remained almost same and, in some
cases, reduced significantly.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has
maintained that there would be a major labour crisis if the foreign
airlines in the country sack their Nigerian workers and possibly stop
operating in the country.
The general secretary of the union, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, told
LEADERSHIP yesterday that the foreign airlines operating in Nigeria,
numbering up to 30 and employing about 2,000 workers, remained major
employers of labour in the aviation sector.
Abioye said, “NUATE being the only union in partnership with foreign
airlines has clear information about the situation of the airlines at
the moment. The airlines have not been able to repatriate their monies
for about one year now. Repatriation of earnings is not something that
is done monthly. Usually, the airlines will wait for a period of time,
but they have been caught up in the CBN policy.
“In fact, I can tell you that many of the airlines are considering
stopping operations in Nigeria. An airline that comes into Nigeria four
times a week is now coming once or twice and the ones that were using
B777, you see them now using B737. This tells of some serious issues.”
Nigeria Excels In Icao Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) yesterday said
that Nigeria had excelled in its recently-concluded Universal Safety
Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
This is contained in a statement issued by the general manager,
Public Relations, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr Sam
Adurogboye, in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the four-man ICAO team,
led by Mr Jean-Claude Waffo, had arrived in Nigeria on March 13 to
assess the country’s aviation industry.
The statement said the auditors, in their preliminary report,
commended Nigeria for the progress and development being made in the
sector.
It said: “Each member gave an individual assessment of all the
delineated areas. These are: Legislation (LEG), Organisation (ORG),
Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG), Air Navigational Services
(ANS) and Aerodrome and Ground Aids (AGA).
“During the presentation, the team leader and the members articulated
all their systemic findings in the course of the 11-day USOAP Audit
conducted in Nigeria.
“While there were areas that were identified as open items that
needed to be closed, the auditors were unanimously very satisfied with
the level of improvement in the aviation industry in Nigeria. The
auditors were highly impressed with the stellar preparation for the
audit by all concerned and claimed that this made the exercise a huge
success.’’
According to the statement, the final report will be produced and
sent to Canada for review and final assent, after comments on the draft
report have been received from Nigeria.
The statement quoted Waffo as saying that the draft results would be produced 90 days after the presentation.
It said that, thereafter, Nigeria was expected to produce a
Corrective Action Plan (CAP) which would provide room for comments and
observations within 45 days.
“The final report is only to be expected and produced after 30 days
of receipt and acknowledgement of comments,’’ it quoted Waffo as saying.
The statement said that, at the end of the presentation, the auditors
thanked the director-general, NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, all the chief
executives of the aviation parastatals, and the Nigerian team that
worked with the auditors during the audit.
The statement said Usman had, in his remarks during the presentation,
expressed appreciation to the auditors for demonstrating unparalleled
dedication and a high sense of responsibility.
It said the NCAA boss assured the auditors that all the open items
would be closed forthwith, while the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) would
be forwarded by the Authority, as required.
“All the lessons learnt from this exercise will be used to enhance
the development, safety and security of aviation, not only in Nigeria
but the whole of Africa,” Usman is quoted as saying.
