Air transport, soft target for labour unrest

The aviation industry has come under severe disruptions whenever labour unions call out their members for protest. It is seen as a soft target for protesters and its damaging effects on an industry that is on life support, writes, WOLE SHADARE

Familiar feature

Hardly six weeks goes by without the announcement of a strike in air transport in all its components: flight crews, airline ground staff, airports, handling agents, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and air traffic controllers. Why does this bulimia of work stoppages in a sector of activity that has been growing rapidly for 50 years?

However, every category, even the most modest, even the smallest in terms of staff, can hinder the flow of traffic. And the matter is further complicated geographically.

Planes go from one country to another and all it takes is for a social movement to disrupt traffic on their way from the airport of departure to the airport of arrival, passing through the various control centres.

A strike movement of controllers as experienced in Nigeria about a few years ago can largely disrupt all flights within Nigeria and those coming into the country.

Strikes as weapon

So, it should come as no surprise that air transport employees have no real weapon of discussion other than the strike, which some shamelessly abuse because it pays off.

But, make no mistake, the strike will certainly remain a widely used means in air transport without the rights of passengers, let us say customers, being sufficiently recognised.

The aviation industry in Nigeria is reeling from the one-and-a-half-day strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to press home or pressure the government to raise workers’ wages.

The unions want the current minimum monthly wage of 30,000 naira ($20) to be increased to nearly 500,000 naira ($336). The government has offered 60,000 naira ($40).

Following the suspension of industrial action by the labour unions, the sector is still counting its losses as air transport operations resumed at the domestic wing of airports across the country.

Thousands of passengers were stranded nationwide following the strike embarked upon by the NLC which was enforced by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).

Disincentive to investors

Stakeholders in the aviation industry have stated that the greatest disincentive to investment in the aviation industry is the activity of labour unions adding that in the last five years, the industry has lost about N30 billion to impromptu industrial actions that could have been avoided.

But for the one-and-a-half day industrial action, it is not yet known how much the sector lost, but analysts said since the sector affected domestic carriers because of the total shutdown of their operations except international flights, they put the cost as roughly N4 billion.

To them, the industry is projected to have lost over N4 billion to the sudden disruption of flight operations to domestic and cargo airlines on Monday when the sector was grounded.

An airline operator who pleased anonymity told Aviation Metric, “Cancelled and rescheduled flights come with costs including refunds and hosting passengers, not just here but in other airports whose flights were to terminate elsewhere. This will cause untold financial burden to airlines.”

“The strike affected our entire operations, but we now expect things to slowly go back to normal as we strive to clear the backlog starting”.

The airline body known as Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) lamented the strike action, saying they suffered a multi-billion loss due to yesterday’s work stoppage.

Experts’ views

A spokesperson for AON, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, told our correspondent that although those whose flights were cancelled would be rescheduled, it was a minus to the airlines’ revenue stream.

He said: “I’m sure that before the end of the day, airlines would have started flying. The airlines were not on strike, it was the airports and labour that went on strike. Now, the strike action has ended and I am sure the airports have been opened. Some airlines should already be boarded for flights from one destination to another as we speak.

On those whose flights got cancelled, Okonkwo said: “It is a force majeure, they have to reschedule. It is a huge price that each of us (travellers and operators) has to pay because of the strike. Any day we don’t fly, it is a big minus to our revenue stream. Unfortunately, we still have to pay all members of our team the same amount they should be paid for the month.

“It is a huge price we have to pay for this. To quantify our loss in monetary terms is huge. We hope that they find a compromise within five days that would bring a permanent end. We don’t have control over recouping what we have lost. We will have to carry over our schedule. That is why we are called scheduled flight operators because every day we have schedules.”

Former Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu stated that for too long the industry had allowed the unions to have their way in their self-serving initiatives, embarking on strikes to press for their welfare while they kill organisations that sustain the industry.

“If they have to demonstrate against their employers, it must be carried out in the employer’s main offices outside the airport’s general operational areas so as not to be disturbing or disrupting other operators,” Ojikutu said.

**Aviation union leaders at a press conference at Lagos airport**

“With the number of delays and cancellations on Monday, who will be responsible for paying the affected passengers and airlines compensation for their losses, NAHCO or NCAA or the passengers should hold the airlines responsible?

He said: “You cannot imagine the losses by airlines, by people who had critical appointments, by the sick who had medical appointments and by students returning to schools overseas who were stranded; just because some workers want improvement in their welfare and decide to implode a critical sector of the economy”

“They don’t care about any other organization. How can you invest in such an environment? What has happened is all over the place in the world. Do you expect a foreign investor to invest in Nigeria’s aviation sector?”

The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace lamented that whenever aviation unions embark on strikes, the industrial action disrupts activities in the aviation market and results in losses to the airline companies.

He said the cost associated with the strikes is enormous, but the airline operators are not reimbursed after the strike is called off.

Last line

Whenever these strikes erupt in the aviation industry, it is the airlines that suffer most, together with the flying public.

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Air transport, soft target for labour unrest

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