Following a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the management of Arik Air and aviation unions, the plan to shutdown the airline has been put on hold.
In a notice to all staff dated August 16, 2020, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) told staff that after its conciliatory with management on 13th August 2020, the planned strike has been shelved.
According to the letter signed by NUATE’s General Secretary, Ocheme Aba and ATSSSAN’s Deputy General Secretary, Frances Akinjole, the unions told their members that the action slated for tomorrow is shelved temporarily and a congress will meet to consider their next step.
The letter read: “At the meeting, the Honorable Minister told the management that it violated the labour law by unilaterally tampering with working conditions through its actions that affected the work and wages of its employees without recourse to the unions. And the minister directed the management to immediately remedy that situation by reverting to our unions.
“On the conditions of Service (Terminal Benefits) the minister implored our unions to accept the plea by the management to allow the meeting scheduled for 18th August, 2020 to hold whereby the management committed to final resolution of the matter.
“Based on the above, the action slated for 17th August, 2020 is hereby shelved temporarily. In its place a congress meeting to consider the outcome of the meeting of 18th has been scheduled for 20th August, 2020. This shall form the basis of our next steps in the matter.”
Daily Sun had previously reported that the unions planned to strike over nonpayment of staff salaries in the airline since April after placing 90% of the workforce on compulsory leave according to a source who pleaded anonymity.
