Aviation Workers Shut Kaduna Airport, Join Warning Strike

Aviation Workers Shut Kaduna Airport, Join Warning Strike

In solidarity with the warning strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) aviation workers have declared withdrawal of services from the Kaduna International Airport (KIA) effective Sunday midnight.

The workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), said the airport would remain shut for the period of the warning strike.

NLC, Kaduna State Council, lately declared a five-day warning strike from Sunday, May 16, 2021, to protest the sack of over 4000 workers by the Kaduna State government.

NLC Chairman in the State, Ayuba Suleiman, had alleged that due process was not observed in the recent disengagement of the workers from the Local Government Service, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Primary Health Care Agency.

Aviation unions, yesterday, explained that the protest and clampdown on the airport were not unconnected with alleged “numerous anti-Labour practices perpetrated against Kaduna State public servants.”

In a circular made available to newsmen, the aviation workers stated: “Our unions, being affiliates of NLC, are part of the decision and are in support of the action against Kaduna State government. In this regard, our participation in the planned shutdown of Kaduna State is hereby affirmed.

“Accordingly, all aviation workers at the Kaduna Airport are hereby directed to withdraw all services at the airport with effect from midnight of Sunday, May 16, 2021, to midnight of Friday, May 21, 2021. The effect shall be the total grounding of operations at the airport within the stipulated period. By this notice, the public is advised to make alternative travel plans within the period.”

Meanwhile, Kaduna Government has accused NLC of recruiting hoodlums and mob within the state and other neighbouring states for the strike, saying this would deepen the current insecurity. Besides, the Union members of Kaduna Airport have pledged support for the five-day strike action, warning the management of a total shut down of its facilities.

However, at a press conference addressed by the Commissioner of Local Government and the Head of Service, Jafa’aru Ibrahim Sani, the State Government warned that “as it is appropriate the security agencies have been notified of plans of some trade Unionists to recruit hoodlums, including from other states to create destructive spectacles and further their self-serving narrative about public service jobs and insecurity.”

Jafa’aru said since the government came into office, it has been devoted to improving workers’ welfare, insisting that “this is sustainable only in the context of the general welfare of residents of the state that the government itself is mandated to serve…”