Aviation workers in the country have declared a nationwide strike over the continuous deduction of 50% from the Internally Generated Revenues (IGR).
The development following a federal government policy aimed at increasing its financial capacity by requiring its agencies to remit 50% of their IGR to the coffers of the government.
The aviation unions, however, have rejected the policy.
The unions involved include the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of National Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and the Amalgamated Union of Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE). In a letter signed by the general secretaries of the unions and made available to the media, the unions have called for a strike on September 18, 2024, “to demand the discontinuation of the deduction of 50% from the internally generated revenue of the agencies mentioned above through an exemption.”
The agencies affected include the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
In a joint statement obtained DAILY GIST on Thursday, the unions said: “All efforts on our part have failed to impress it upon the Federal Government that all the agencies are cost recovery and not profit-making organisations.
As such, they cannot survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration or any other guise whatsoever. The ultimatum given to the Minister of Aviation on the same issue expired at the end of August 2024.”
“some important safety-critical activities of the agencies are grinding to a halt under the yoke of the deductions. It has, therefore, become incumbent on us as trade unions and workers in aviation to let the public and the government be aware that we shall bear no responsibility in the certain event that the industry becomes dysfunctional as a result of financial incapacity due to the deductions at source.”
The unions have called on their state councils, women commissions/committees, youth councils, and branches nationwide to fully mobilise for the protest, ensuring full compliance and success.
They also warned that further actions will be communicated if the protests fail to achieve the desired results.
