CHUKS OKOH
One of the aviation unions in the country, National Union Of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has warned that the unions will not hesitate to resume picketing of airlines should they fail to comply with the conditions stipulated
NUATE said the unions are watching if they airlines will comply saying that if they don’t comply, nothing stops them from revisiting the strike action.
The General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Paul Igene, explained that the airlines called for the picketing stressing to actually picket was not an easy thing but AON caused it by rejecting the Minister for Aviation, Festus Keyamo invitation for a meeting in Abuja. “And these people bluntly refused and looked down on the union, saying that they cannot sit with any union to hold any meeting” .
He said the unions did not select airlines to be picketed but were organised accordingly. “They said we only picked one section of the airline and picketed them, which is Air Peace. No, it’s not true. It’s Air Peace that dragged trouble to itself.
We have already lined up this picketing for one week, and we said we’ll be going from one airline to the other. Why Air Peace own came first, he was the one that came out in the newspaper and insulted the union, calling them a nuisance, calling them—let them not dare him. “Eh-hen, you say let us not dare you? Okay, fine. If you are big, you are really strong.”
Igene said Air Peace dared the unions hence they started with his airline. “Instead of actually allowing himself to be addressed properly, we now said, “Okay, we are going to dare him,” since he’s the one that can insult the union and he looked down on the union”
*So that was why we started with Air Peace. Our mission was after Air Peace that day, we are going to Ibom Air. After Ibom Air, we go to another airline, United, like that, and like that, until we finish all of them”
The NUATE scribe said they were very ready, and they knew their plans, and they never knew that their plans leaked to the unions
He commended members of the unions for being desciplined in handling situations adding that the Minister and Perm Sec did not want the strike but the AON wanted the strike.
“The AON, they organized themselves, and they are saying you should not organize the workers working under them. You see all these bourgeois? Bourgeois are always all these strong capitalists; they like using the poor ones like slaves. Where you’re supposed to pay somebody ₦100,000-and-something, you will go and pay the person ₦20,000”
