Aero Contractors said that it has paid about 95 per cent redundancy packages to some of its staff affected by the exercise about seven years ago.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi, said that 94.94 per cent of workers affected by the purge in 2017 had been paid fully their severance packages, promising that the remaining 5. 06 per cent would be paid to the affected staff very soon.
Sanusi stated that out of a total number of 237 staff affected by the redundancy package, 225 staff have been paid off, representing 94.94 per cent of those affected.
Further breakdown of the affected workers indicated that three members of the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and nine members of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) were still being affected by the exercise, while efforts were ongoing to pay the outstanding to the staff.
Sanusi further lamented that the operating environment where the airlines operate from was hostile to business, but said despite this, the management had been relentless in ensuring a vast majority of affected persons were paid their entitlements.
He assured that Aero Contractors remained committed to fulfilling its obligations to all workers, but appealed to the unions not to allow themselves to be used to disrupt activities in the airline.
According to him, the Aero Contractors management had already slated a meeting with the leadership of NAAPE for April 17, 2024 and wondered why the association still went to the public on the matter.
He said: “The company has successfully disbursed redundancy payments to 94.94 per cent of affected staff. Admittedly, we still have outstanding financial commitment to a few affected staff. However, plans are under way to defray these and we have been engaging with affected staff to carry them along in all the company has been doing and going through.
“Aero management empathises with the discomfort and strain this experience has put on the affected individuals as well as the whole company. We ask for more understanding as we work towards resolving all outstanding issues.”
“We believe it is important to situate the whole experience within the operational context that Aero Contractors in particular and the industry in general has had to operate over the period in question.”
Besides, Sanusi appealed to the Federal Government to assist the airlines in their growth plans by ensuring easy access to aircraft acquisition.
“I am not a fan of grants or intervention funds because some of these have brought more damage to the sector. What the government can do is to provide access to aircraft leases or acquisition by the leasing companies.
“The government should work with the financial sector to provide guarantees to the leasing companies.”
