NAAPE shuts Bristow Helicopters over expatriate quota law
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) have shut the operations of Bristow Helicopters in Nigeria. The exercise took place today.
Confirming the situation was the National President of the association, Balami Isaac said, “Their operations are currently grounded and nothing will be happening there today”.
“The issues necessitating the shutting according to the body includes: Victimization of members especially executives, Illegal redundancy, Violation of Conditions of Services by making members to work up to 60, 72 Hours without paying overtime, Cancelation of even rotation and forcefully outing everybody to work more and earn less. In other words, reduction in salary and refusal to honour the exchange rate agreed during negotiation.”
The union and the management of the airline had been at daggers drawn over labour related issues following plans by the management of Bristow Group to disengage Nigerian pilots and engineers in its employ without complying with the expatriate quota law and the Nigerian oil and gas industry content development Act.
Bristow’s declaration of 13 Nigerian engineers and ten Nigerian pilots redundant was considered totally unjustifiable because the current Nigerian expatriate ratio is said to be grossly in contravention of Nigerian laws governing expatriate quota and local content.
NAAPE’s General Secretary, Ocheme Abba disclosed that the redundancy exercise in contention to the union’s recent successful struggle to establish pay parity between the expatriates and nationals.
To him, the exercise targeted at victimising the branch officers for their roles in the union activities that brought about pay disparity.
