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Expatriate pay disparity: Bristow pilots, engineers downtools
Aircraft pilots under the umbrella of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) have protested the pay disparity by Bristow Helicopters for its pilots and expatriate pilots. The pilots and engineers have however suspended their operations leading to the grounding of the airline.
NAAPE has been in dispute with the management of Bristow Group over the highly vexed issue of pay disparity by which Nigerian pilots and engineers are discriminated against in favour of foreign nationals, as well as the highly inimical absence of valid conditions of service.
Spokesman for NAAPE, Ocheme Aba said all effort by NAAPE to get the management of Bristow to ameliorate these “acts of injustice and violation of the constitution of Nigeria, as well as contravention of Bristow Code of Business Integrity (COBI) has failed to yield any positive result.”
He stated that Management’s proposal on the issue dated February 11, 2016 is nothing but a disingenuous mockery of all of us and undisguised insult on our collective intelligence, as it offers nothing but takes away even more from us. As such the offer has been outrightly and totally rejected.
He noted that NAAPE had since offered a proposal to the management which has received an even more unpalatable response.
His words, “Any unbiased third party will easily agree that NAAPE has bent double backwards to show maturity and good faith, and has amply demonstrated restraint and forbearance. But management has paid us back with utter disdain and blackmail.”
“While we have been playing for time to allow for workable solutions, management has been digging trenches and fortifying their positions. While we have been offending our members by showing understanding, Management has been degrading our Country’s laws by massing up Expatriate recruitments, in fragrant disregard to subsisting expatriate quota laws, all in a bid to decimate and weaken the position of Nationals. And as a nail on our coffin, the Management has set out to massively lay off national pilots and engineers as a weapon of war against the group.”
Aba further stated that it is evidently clear that the Management of Bristow is certainly averse to resolving the issues in dispute.
He noted that accordingly, the National Executive Council (NEC) of NAAPE has directed all pilots and engineers in Bristow Group Nigeria to withdraw all services with effect from today’s midnight to April 1, 2016 as a warning to Bristow Management.
He disclosed that the union will thereafter review the situation, and if the following issues are not fully redressed, then a more comprehensive action will be embarked upon such as full restoration of pay parity between expatriates and nationals, bringing about a valid conditions of Service, and a commitment by the management of Bristow that Nationals will not be laid off as long as there exists expatriates in the company.
The group directed pilots and engineers of the airline to stay away from the workplace, but remain within the vicinity, for the period above stated, unless otherwise directed by the Secretariat of NAAPE.
2We wish to warn any person(s) or group(s) of persons who may harbour the intention to sabotage this strike action to think twice before embarking on such risk as the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers will not take kindly to such unfriendliness.”
The officials of NAAPE as well as that of the Trade Union Congress of
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