*Airlines, BASL Lose N400m Revenue
After negotiations that went into the night on Thursday, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Known as MMA2 and unions reached agreement that the former would recall the 27 workers it sacked, while the union would call off the strike, which had lasted two days.
The five airlines that operate at the terminal lament their losses, as Dana Air said it lost over N100 million on the first day of the strike, while BASL said it lost N120 million for the two days the strike lasted.
Arik Air, Max Air, Aero Contractors and Azman Air were estimated to have lost about N180 million during the period.
Leaders of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAP) with into negotiation with the officials of BASL about 6:00 pm on Thursday evening and after a long discussion on the conditions given by labour
BASL assented to the demands of industry unions by recalling the sacked 27 workers of the company.
This was facilitated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which sent representatives to intervene on the matter, as BASL eventually approved the demands of labour.
BASL agreed that the 27 sacked workers would be recalled by the management while activities would return to the terminal from Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, the company lamented that it lost over N120m to the picketing by the unions.
The terminal operators also accused the unions of acting contrary to court order, which restrained them from embarking on the action.
Airlines operating at MMA2 threatened to downsize their workforce as the strike lingered and as the airlines continued to lose millions of naira.
Also eateries and other businesses at the terminal facility recorded huge losses.
On the second day before the standoff was called off workers at the terminal carried counter placards against the union members as they protested and asked labour to leave terminal.
Some of the placards read, “NUATE/ATSSSAN let Bi-Courtney be”, “BASL is a responsible employer of labour, unions should stop troubling Bi-Courtney” among others.
BASL in a statement signed by its spokesman, Steve Omolale, said, “We have it on good authority that unions in the aviation sector, who have grounded our operations for days now, are making clandestine moves to invade our terminal in the night and destroy the facilities therein.
“We will never allow this to happen as we consider it as the greatest act of criminality. We want to assure the unions that as a law-abiding corporate citizen, we will do everything possible within the ambit of the law to protect our terminal.
“With this new revelation, we believe that their alleged grievances go beyond the protestation of the disengagement of the 24 workers who they claimed were their members. We view this as an act of economic sabotage and a sustained campaign to truncate our concession.”
”BASL therefore appealed to the Nigeria Police Force to enforce the various court orders granted it, restraining the unions from further disrupting the operations of MMA2.”
Meanwhile, Dana Air, one of the affected airlines operating from MMA2, said it has relocated to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) after losing N100 million on the first day of flight disruptions by labour.
A statement signed by the Media/Communication Manger, Kingsley Ezenwa, said, “For now, we have lost over N100m to the ongoing action and losing such money in an industry where airlines are still grappling with a myriad of challenges is unacceptable and disappointing to say the least. We do not know how the situation will be in the coming days and we might have no other option that to downsize if the action stretches for too long.
“While we respect the rights of both parties to engage each other based on extant laws, we call on all concerned to intervene and save the industry from further crises,” he said.
But labour has continued to insist that the sacked workers be recalled before it would stop the picketing of the facility.
THISDAY
