The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has threatened to embark on industrial action if the Federal Government refuses to exempt aviation agencies from the directive seeking 50 per cent deduction from their internally generated revenue.
This was revealed in a communiqué issued by ATSSSAN’s National Executive Council, after the National Economic Council meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent.
The NEC meeting was attended by all the 17 affiliates of ATSSSAN with the full complement of their respective branch chairmen, secretaries, and national officers.
ATSSSAN reiterated calls for the exemption of the aviation agencies from the deduction of 50 per cent of their IGR under the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The association said the agencies were not established for profit, adding that stifling them of the required funds would jeopardise the effective performance of their safety and security mandates.
ATSSAN warned that if the federal government insisted on the deduction, thereby compounding the current financial state of the agencies, “we may be forced to direct all aviation workers to down tools until the government reverses itself.”
Last year, the Federal Government directed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to immediately commence the presidential directives on a 50 per cent automatic deduction from the internally generated revenue of Federal Government-owned enterprises.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had issued a circular titled, “Re: Implementation of the Presidential Directives on 50 per cent Automatic Deduction from Internally Generated Revenue of Federal Government Owned Enterprises (FGOEs).”
According to the circular, all partially-funded federal government agencies and parastatals (receiving capital or overhead allocation from the federal government’s budget) should remit 50 per cent of their gross IGR, while all statutory revenues, like tender fees, contractor’s registration, and sales of government assets, among others, should be remitted 100 per cent to the sub-recurrent account.
ATSSSAN also voiced apprehension regarding what it perceives as deliberate efforts by certain private airlines to stop their employees from forming labour unions.
Citing Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and international labor norms, the association contends that such actions constitute a violation of worker rights.
The statement, however, did not specify the airline operators suppressing workers from joining unions.
Part of the statement read, “The NEC-in-session calls on all employers in the private sector in the aviation industry to respect collective bargaining agreements in order to avert industrial crises at the workplace.
“NEC-in-session was seriously disturbed by the continuous willful acts by some private airlines towards frustrating the unionization of their employees, contrary to the letters and spirit of Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and relevant international conventions and laws.”
The association called upon the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to uphold and enforce employees’ rights to unionise within the aviation industry.
It urged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to orchestrate a dialogue involving all relevant stakeholders, including the non-compliant airlines and labour unions, under the auspices of the Labor Ministry.
At the meeting, other issues affecting workers, especially members’ welfare and working conditions, and the aviation industry at large were discussed, and positions and resolutions were taken.
The aviation group decried what it perceive as a dearth of avenues for career progression within government-owned aviation entities.