Aviation workers in Nigeria are planning a national protest on August 21, 2024, in response to the Federal Government’s continuous deduction of 50% from the income of important aviation organizations.
The unions released a letter on Thursday, dated August 14, 2024, with the heading “Save Aviation From Collapse,” which was made available to reporters.
The authorities that are affected by this situation are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
“All employees of the NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, NiMet, NCAT, and NSIB, along with the support of all aviation workers, have been instructed to peacefully protest at all airports across the country on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The purpose of the protest is to demand an end to the deduction of 50% from the internally generated revenue of the mentioned agencies through exemption,” the letter stated.
“All the Agencies are institutions that aim to recover costs rather than generate profits. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to convince the Federal Government otherwise.” So, no matter what type of government or disguise they may have, they cannot survive on only half of their salaries.
The unions have expressed concern that the deductions are putting financial pressure on certain organizations, which is affecting important safety operations.
The advisors stated that if these financial limitations were to cause the aviation sector to collapse, they would not be held responsible.
“From the information available, it appears that some of the Agencies’ important safety critical operations are being halted due to the burden of the deductions.” As trade unions and workers in aviation, we feel it is important to inform the public and the government that we cannot be held responsible if the industry experiences financial difficulties and becomes dysfunctional due to deductions made from our income.
The unions have instructed all state councils, women’s commissions, youth councils, and branches of their unions across the country to fully mobilize and ensure widespread participation in preparation for the demonstration.demonstration.
