After 13 years of agitation, the federal government last week, finally gave approval for the release of N45 billion for the payment of gratuities and other retirement benefits of former staff of defunct Nigeria Airways Ltd (NAL).
It was cheering news, especially for the ex-workers of NAL, many of whom might have given up on the payment of their severance package. But what is instructive about this is the fact that the government that liquidated the nation’s national carrier, NAL was unable to pay the ex-workers.
THISDAY learnt that some years ago, the workers were given five years retirement payment after the liquidation but they rightly demanded for pay off. This was after several years the labour unions had cried hoarse, obstructed aviation activities on behalf of the workers and risked their lives and their jobs. This was also after some of the ex-workers had died in penury and or lost their loved ones because they had no money to care for them.
Early this year, THISDAY learnt that the corpse of one of the seasoned pilots of Nigeria Airways (name withheld) was in the mortuary many months after his demise because the children of the deceased could not pay for the cost of the mortuary service and burial. It would have been avoidable death if he had the resources to attend to his ailment.
In a recent protest by the ex-Nigeria Airways workers, a former staff, Christiana Ojukoya noted that their colleagues in Europe and America were paid their full entitlements immediately the carrier was liquidated, whereas those in Nigeria, Cameroon and other West African countries were neglected for years until 2009 when late President Umaru Yar’Adua paid five years of their severance packages, instead of the 25 years paid to their colleagues abroad.
“The sad thing is that I and my husband worked for this airline for 25 years and we both suffered until he died last year. My husband died in penury because we could not raise money for his medical bills,” she mournfully stated.
THISDAY
