Labour Gives NCAA Ultimatum over Non-promotion of Staff

Aviation unions have given the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) 14-day ultimatum to adjust the agency’s organogram, which they said has stagnated some of the workers who are denied promotion after several years.

The unions also told the management of the agency to ensure that workers who were due for promotion in the past two years were duly promoted and put in their right positions.

The unions-Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP)-yesterday held a peaceful congress at the headquarters of NCAA at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos to press home their demands.

The Deputy President of ATSSSAN, Emmanuel Jaja, in an interview with journalists at the congress, accused the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, of manipulating the new organogram and agreement reached with the NCAA management.

According to him, a tripartite team comprising the unions, NCAA management and the government had sat down to fashion out a new organogram for NCAA as a result of its new status, but Sirika single-handedly changed the organogram.

He alleged that the organogram which was returned to the management was entirely different from what was agreed with the committee, alleging that it was skewed against the workers.

Jaja insisted that the new organogram would not create room for development of workers, adding that some who were due for promotion since 2017 were yet to be promoted, while the government was also on the verge of merging some of the directorates.

“There was a tripartite committee on the issue of the organogram of NCAA; the unions, NCAA management and the government, but all of a sudden when the organogram was returned to the management, what was presented to the team was entirely different from what was agreed upon.

 “As it is, the organogram of NCAA has been messed up with what the management and the government just did. The unions will follow the due process in its action. We all know that strike or picketing is not a tea party. The staff members are requesting for an ultimatum from us now to ginger the management to take the right step,” Jaja explained.

But, the General Manager, Public Affairs of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, in reaction to the ultimatum, assured the unions that the issue would be resolved amicably by both parties.

He said the action of the unions was in order, stressing that the management would treat all the issues raised objectively.

According to him, “What is happening here is not unusual. The unions have called out a congress, which is to brief their members and usually, the management will wait for the outcome and sit down together with the unions to resolve any perceived challenge. It is not a newspaper publication that we will wait for.

“We have always had issues with the unions and we have always resolved them. We can say proudly that in this number of years of NCAA, there has not been shut down. In fact, we have been resolving challenges in other organisations. So, we have a way of handling such issues, not by arm twisting or blackmailing anyone, but we will always resolve it.”