Hundreds of air travellers were left stranded in Abuja and Lagos on Tuesday after aviation unions shut down operations of Air Peace, accusing the domestic carrier of suppressing staff unionisation and withholding statutory passenger levies owed to regulators.
The picketing was launched early Tuesday by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), supported by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The industrial action follows earlier warnings to defaulting carriers over unremitted funds and allegations that airline staff face victimisation if they attempt to join union bodies.
Labour leaders accuse domestic airlines of failing to transfer the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) collected from passengers: funding essential to the operational budgets of aviation agencies like the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The unions contend that this backlog has hindered the implementation of negotiated collective bargaining agreements for aviation workers, warning that resulting staff dissatisfaction poses risks to aviation safety.
In a joint statement, the unions noted that they were issuing a three-day strike notice to defaulting airlines, demanding: “Unfettered unionisation of staff in their organisation impossible after several efforts by the aviation unions. Their workers dare not even express the intention to belong to unions of their choice.”
They further demanded: “Non-remittance of the already collected, but withheld 5% ticket sales charge, which is the operational fund of the aviation agencies, thereby rendering our members’ negotiated collective bargaining agreements at the aviation agencies nugatory so far. This continues to breed disgruntled air transport workers; the implication of which is an accident in the waiting.”
To resolve the impasse, trade unions are demanding clear circulars granting staff freedom of association without fear of reprisal, alongside the immediate release of withheld regulatory funds.
The action marks an escalation in a long-standing dispute between aviation labour groups and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).