Aviation workers have announced a nationwide strike to commence on August 21, 2024, to protest the Federal Government’s continuous withdrawal of 50% of key aviation agencies’ internally generated revenue.
The unions announced this in a letter headed “Save Aviation From Collapse” dated August 14, 2024, which was distributed to journalists on Thursday, August 15. The NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Meteorological Services Agency, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau are among the entities affected by the sector.
The letter in part reads; “All workers of the NCAA, FAAN, NAMA, NiMet, NCAT, and NSIB, joined by the solidarity of all aviation workers, are hereby directed to embark on peaceful protests at all airports nationwide on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, to demand the discontinuation of deduction of 50 per cent from the internally generated revenue of the agencies mentioned above through exemption.
All efforts on our part have failed to impress upon the Federal Government that all the agencies are cost recovery and not profit-making organisations. As such they cannot survive on half of their incomes under any model of administration or any other guise whatsoever,”
The unions highlighted that vital safety functions inside these institutions were already under threat due to the financial burden imposed by the deductions. They warned that they would not be held liable if the aviation industry failed owing to financial limitations.