Aviation bills: How ‘smuggled’ clauses unsettle workers amidst strike threat

There is uncertainty in the aviation industry over the threat of an industrial action by workers for the removal of obnoxious clauses in the new aviation bills, Daily Trust on Sunday reports.

 Although a 14-day ultimatum given on September 12 elapsed recently, officials of the union said it stood, and members were working on convening a meeting where the next line of action would be decided. They said unless the federal government moved to arrest the current threat to smooth operation in the industry, the threat by the unions could bring another setback to the industry, which is already feeling the heat of rising inflation, high cost of Jet A1, among others.

• Buhari, Ortom, others mourn as Ex-PDP chair, Ogbulafor, dies
• Fear looms in Nigeria as Indian syrups kill 66 children in Gambia

Penultimate week, unions in the industry cried out over what they called obnoxious clauses in the new aviation bills passed into law by the National Assembly and protested at all airports in the country.

The bills seek to amend the establishment acts of all the agencies, in addition to repealing the Civil Aviation Act (CAA) 2006 to bring them at par with the current trends and development in the global aviation industry. 

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that apart from the CAA, the bills also repealed the establishment Acts of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which transformed into the Nigerian Transport Safety Commission (NTSC), thereby expanding the functions of the Bureau to cover other modes of transportation. 

Following the passage of the six bills, the president recently assented to two, including the CAA and NiMet bills, while four are still pending.

But the unions, comprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), are raising eyebrows over certain clauses in the bills, which attempt to proscribe their activities by classifying aviation as an essential service for which strike or an industrial action cannot be embarked upon. 

The general-secretary of the NUATE, Comrade Ocheme Aba, told our correspondent that the clauses must have been smuggled into the new bills because the issue of prescribing union activities did not come up during the public hearings organised by the Joint National Assembly Committees on Aviation before the bills were passed.

According to him, the new civil aviation Act transmitted to the president for assent stated that “all services which facilitate and maintain smooth, orderly and safe takeoff, flight and landing of aircraft, embarkation and disembarkation and evacuation of passengers and cargo respectively in all aerodromes in Nigeria are hereby designated as essential services, pursuant to the provisions of section 11 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

Also, the Act was said to have provided that there shall be no strike, lock-outs, pickets, blockades, service disruptions etc of any kind within all facilities managed by the agency, and where any labour dispute arises, such dispute shall be resolved by the agency.

Aba said, “For all intents and purposes, the above stated provisions represent an effort at repression and oppression.”

He reiterated that during the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives, the issue of essential service was responded to by the president of the NAAPE, who drew attention to a National Industrial Court ruling, to the effect that airlines do not render essential services.

“As far as we are concerned, the matter rests at that, as no member of the public in particular canvassed any such position. More disturbingly, the subject of essential services did not feature in any of the deliberations of the committees of the National Assembly in the course of making any of the six bills in question, as the National Assembly records show,” he added.

The unions, however, demanded investigation on how the clauses found their way into the bills transmitted to the president, insisting that the clauses, which conflict heavily with prevailing national and international laws, cannot find a hiding place in the aviation conclave.

“It will be placed on record that the consequence of a bad law is that it cannot be implemented, or will be disobeyed,” the NUATE scribe added.

However, further findings by our correspondent revealed that the provisions designating aviation as an essential service sector has been part of the CAA 2006. 

Section 67, subsections 1, 2 and 3 of the CAA states, “All services which facilitate and maintain the smooth, orderly and safe takeoff, flight and handling of aircraft, and the disembarkation and evacuation of passengers and cargo respectively in all aerodromes in Nigeria are hereby designated as essential services, pursuant to the provisions of section 11 (I) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Subsection 2 adds, “The minister may, by regulations prohibit all or such class or classes of workers, officers and other employees of persons, whether corporate or natural, engaged in the provision of the services specified in subsection (1) of this section from taking part in a strike or other industrial action.”

A former secretary-general of the NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, confirmed this to our correspondent in a chat, saying the clauses have been part of the CAA since 2004 and 2006 when it was re-enacted. 

He said, “From available sources, the said clauses have been with us since 2004/2006 when the CAA was established. In major statues such as this, there are usually inserted clauses, which may be enforced as situation permits. And I want to say without fear of contradiction that these clauses do not mean anything than mere legal instruments the authority (president, minister or their representatives) may invoke when all else fails. 

“By the way, what are essential services to become the bone of contention? This refers to certain classes of occupation by workers, especially those legislated by the government in order to restrict them from going on strike, such as the public health sector, railways etc.

“However, the International Labour Organisation has two classifications for essential services, and by any stretch of imagination, these clauses in our CAA were of necessity, which had been in our books but never used against the unions or the workers in any way.”

He added that in spite of the clauses, “The fundamental rights of workers to freedom of expression, association, organising and engaging in collective bargaining, are all instruments in our labour laws and even the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Strike actions are here to stay, but we must be cautious and discernible enough to know when and how to use the instrument.”

But the general-secretary of the ATSSSAN, Comrade Frances Akinjole, said that while it was truly in the NCAA act, it had been duplicated in other bills, especially that of the FAAN.

He said, “It is also in FAAN’s bill that has not been signed. There is a subsection of section 42 which clearly states that there shall be no strike. In that of the FAAN, it is very explicit that there shall be no strike. 

“The FAAN bill has not been signed, but it was leaked to us. Even the National Assembly claims ignorance of it. So how did we get there?”

Akinjole added that the 14-day ultimatum issued by the unions still stood and vowed that the unions would resist the attempt to gag them.

“The position had not changed. We held a meeting with the ministry two days ago in Abuja, but nothing has changed. We have not sat down to review the development,” he said. 

While the ministry has denied smuggling the new clauses in the bills, stakeholders are calling on the National Assembly to take a second look into them to arrest the lingering industrial action. 

A former NAMA managing director, Captain Roland Iyayi, said it would not be just if the clauses were truly smuggled into the new bills. He, however, asked the unions to proceed to court to challenge the legality of the clauses if they felt it was in conflict with their fundamental human rights. 

He said, “I will suggest that they proceed to court for interpretation to see if that provision of the act infringes on the rights of the staff. I really don’t have the details. When I read the particular sections I will be able to say what I think.

“To a large extent, prescribing unions is like saying that members of staff in the industry do not have the right of association. That, for me as a layman, will mean an infringement on their rights. Again, it will require the courts to interpret.

“Aviation is an infrastructure asset for any country. How do you elevate it to being an essential service when it is not something that is easily affordable by the masses?”