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The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) has opened up on the situation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos State.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports NAHCO to have said it is engaging the unions and bringing to an end the disruption in flight services occasioned by the industrial action embarked upon by a section of its staff.
“We regret all Inconvenience and we are ensuring that the situation is resolved speedily. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience,” NAHCO stated.
In a statement in Lagos on Monday, NAHCO acknowledged that some of its clients were being put through a difficult situation by the insistence of some staff to embark on strike action despite a subsisting court order, which restrained them from doing so.
“We regret all the inconveniences,” the Group Executive Director, Dr. Olusola Obabori said, adding that the Company is already engaging the Unions and other stakeholders and are positive the situation would be resolved within hours.
He said, “We understand the power of negotiation. The Company which has arguably the best welfare package among the local players in the aviation industry will do all that is absolutely necessary to make its workforce happy even as it delights its customers.”
“This situation would be resolved speedily as it is detrimental to the staff, the Company and its esteemed clients.”
Recall that aviation unions, NUATE and ATSSSAN last week gave a five-day notice of strike to NAHCO management citing slow progress in negotiation for salary review.
The Company disclosed it just promoted about 2,000 members of its workforce and asked that accelerated negotiation be continued in February to enable the Company stabilize from the financial effect of the recent promotions.
“Undaunted, the unions gave the notice of strike prompting the Management of the Company to seek for court intervention to prevent the industrial action while negotiation proceeds in a serene and conducive atmosphere,” the statement added.
Passengers stranded at MMIA as NAHCO commences warning strike
TNG reports staff of the NAHCO on Monday commenced a warning strike over the failure of the management to attend to their condition of service.
In view of this, flights at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport were grounded.
NAHCO staff are saddled with the responsibility of handling check in, boarding and ramp services for several international airlines.
Monday’s strike however, left several passengers stranded at the airport as they were not attended to.
A correspondent who monitored the airport learnt that Qatar Airways which was airborne returned to Doha due to the ongoing strike of the officials of NAHCO.
Some passengers, who spoke with NAN, lamented the situation noting that the passengers were at the receiving end of the ”crossfire”.
Mr Benedict Udom, who was in the airport with his family, expressed his frustration and anger at the situation.
“Everytime there is an issue with an agency in the airport, they always embark on strike and at the end of everything, it is the passengers who have no idea of what is going on, who suffers.
“When are all these going to end for Christ sake, every time, it is one issue or another, what is my business with their issues, it is so annoying,” he said.
Another passenger, Mr Toyin Saka voiced his frustration at the trend of agencies embarking on strike due to internal dispute.
“For God’s sake, what is my business with their internal dispute, that is between them and the management, why do I have to suffer for another man’s sin.
“I’m definitely not going to embark on that trip today and I still can’t comprehend why people use strike as the only option to express their grievances. We need to do better as a country”, he said.
It was learnt that the striking workers were backed by their unions which included the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE).
