NiMet workers call off strike after Minister’s intervention
The intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has led to the suspension of indefinite strike embarked on by workers of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).
The meeting between the workers led by their unions was heated but the ability of the Minister to wade into the matter softened the hard stance of the workers who had vowed to ground flight operations across the country.
Their action forced Air Peace to suspend its operations across the country, citing the unavailability of weather report and the desire not endanger passengers lives.
NiMET’s workers were seen early on Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, chanting slogans such as “No weather, no flights” and “Fly at your own risk.” The industrial action follows the breakdown of talks between labor unions and NiMet’s management. In a letter signed on Monday by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical, and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), the workers accused NiMet of refusing to negotiate or implement agreed financial allowances, including wage awards, peculiar allowances, and outstanding payments from the 2019 minimum wage.
They also alleged that the agency’s management withheld important documents, ignored requests to include omitted staff in past payments, and neglected key training programs in favor of executive retreats. The unions stated that NiMet’s failure to meet their demands left them with no choice but to withdraw all services indefinitely, effective April 22, until further notice.
But after a meeting with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in Abuja on Thursday, the strike was called off.§
Google+