A staff member of Air Peace may have his day in court having blocked the Lagos airport runway over the picketing of the airline on Tuesday.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, began picketing the airline in the early hours of Tuesday.
Recall that unions had earlier issued three stages of warning, threatening to picket airlines that have refused to pay the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
The unions also alleged that some domestic airlines have made it difficult for employees to freely join trade unions.
According to the unions, workers are afraid to even express interest in union membership for fear of discrimination or victimisation.
They, however, described Tuesday’s action as a measure of restraint, saying they had given the affected airlines several weeks to resolve their grievances.
The dispute also centres on the alleged non-remittance of a 5 per cent ticket sales charge meant to fund aviation agencies.
While enforcing the picketing, a source at the airport who didn’t want to be mentioned explained to our correspondent that the driver of the bus in question had driven into the airside and left his bus there in protest against the picketing.
The source added that FAAN had to tow the vehicle from the spot to allow for free movement within the airside.
When contacted, the NCAA spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the development and threatened that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to the yet-to-be-identified driver.
