The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Sunday hailed the federal government for the provision of N1trillion intervention fund to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The union also expressed delight that aviation is one of the beneficiaries of the fund but pleaded that the sector should take the lion share.
The President of NUATE, Comrade Ben Nnabue, in a statement said this is against the background of the “well-grounded view that the adverse effects of the coronavirus on aviation far outstrips the impact of 9/11 for which aviation received quite substantial interventions all over the world.”
He also pleaded for understanding from employers of labour in the aviation sector, saying the present crisis would be temporary.
“In this regard, we are of the opinion that the positive handling of labour issues by the companies should be among the criteria to be used in accessing the fund,” he said.
The President called on all aviation agencies to activate and scale up their coronavirus response modes while advocating “an integrated mechanism that incorporates the entire airport activities nationwide led by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).”
On labour issues that collosal losses by the airlines due to travel restrictions and ban could trigger, Nnabue noted that the situation has created a very serious labour challenge.
“As the airlines, especially the international carriers, and the companies dependent on them count their losses, there is now a present danger that the workforce might take a hit as well. This is a matter of serious concern to NUATE as a labour union.”
He therefore urged labour leaders to look at the situation on ground and toe the line of discussion and dialogue.
“All stakeholders, ourselves more than others, must share the worry of the affected aviation companies. We truly sympathise with their situation. And there is a genuine fear that some of the smaller entities might be unable to survive the crunch. This type of circumstance calls for sober thoughts,” he added.
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