…Wants aviation agencies to phase out contract staffing
By Chinelo Obogo
The National President of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), John Ogbe, has called on President Bola Tinubu to redirect the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, to implement the approval he granted in May 2025 and conveyed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo in June, for the settlement of the outstanding exit benefits of the ex-Nigeria Airways staff.
Ogbe said this during the Workers Day celebration held on Lagos on May 1, where he lamented the high cost of living despite salaries remaining the same. He said: “Our senior citizens continue to die in their closets without receiving their benefits themselves, while their approved ₦36,000,000,000.00 is unconscionably locked in the bureaucratic ineptitude of the Federal Ministry of Finance. While I empathise with the beneficiaries of this benefit, I assure you that ATSSSAN shall always stand firmly with you until the final victory is secured.”
On the issue of contract staffing, he said the airport should be a no-go area for casual workers experimentation and that contract staffing must systematically be phased out with conscious planning for replacement by succession through career progression.
The union leader also called on the Federal Government to come up with a permanent solution to the crisis associated with the high cost of aviation fuel which he said has made the aviation business difficult.
He then spoke on organisations that are yet to allow their members of staff to join any union of their choice, saying: “Unionisation is a right, struggled for, and guaranteed by section 40 of the Nigeria 1999 Constitution as amended and other international laws and treaties. Aviators should not be made to beg to enjoy the right to belong to a union of their choice. Henceforth, I promise not to allow this right to be violated with impunity by participants in our industry.
“We shall, however, always endeavour to collaborate with the operators in this industry to grow their businesses in the collective interest. We also call on our supervising ministry and the Federal Ministry of Labour to be alive to their oversight function to all employers of labour in the aviation industry in Nigeria.
“To management and government: We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for fairness. Pay us on time. Insure us fully. Listen when we report safety issues. Because when an airport worker is tired, overworked, underpaid, or ignored, every passenger is at risk.
If all the above is genuinely adhered to, we may, to an extent, be able to allay the fear of this year’s May Day,” he said.
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