Amidst the ongoing controversy generated by the Federal Government’s directive on the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos, the General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Ocheme Aba, has cautioned against allowing the ongoing hullabaloo to affect safety.
Speaking exclusively with Nigerian Tribune in his office at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Comrade Aba insisted that while protecting interest of workers and welfare during the relocation, safety must be adhered to by the affected organisation.
This came even as other sister unions, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) have commended the relocation order, describing the directive as a welcome development.
ATSSSAN, ANAP and NUATE, in a joint statement, recalled how the unions had expressed concerns over the hasty manner in which aviation workers were relocated to Abuja when no adequate arrangement was made in the areas of office accommodation, infrastructure and other logistics for smooth relocation.
Secretary of NUATE urged the management of FAAN to deploy best practice to ensure that the relocation does not affect safety, by making the movement a gradual process and in a way that workers are comfortable with.
The labour leader, while arguing that headquarters of any organisation cannot be sited in the convenience of the owners, said it must be in the interest of the business with a view to surviving, especially with regards to raw materials.
In his analysis, the NUATE scribe said since aviation is in Lagos, every business operational and administrative headquarters concerning aviation have been built around Lagos.
He said, “I hope tomorrow another person will not come and read political meanings to this situation and do it all over again. Business decisions should be based on business parameters.
“It is our hope that if such movement is required in future, all necessary infrastructure must be in place. We are also of the opinion that staff who have collected relocation allowance though not sufficient should not be paid for this redeployment. We, however, urge the management to make Lagos offices convenient enough for staff to operate.”
Aba noted that the unions had earlier warned against such movement to Abuja and its cost implications, a situation that has left a lot of overhead costs for the agencies that will be affected.
The NUATE scribe expressed the optimism that the same directive of relocation will apply to the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), which is presently occupying a rented building in Abuja, based on the forceful relocation by the former minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.
Aba lamented how the agencies have not been able to meet up with financial obligation to staff on the movement before the relocation order, adding that there was a very financial penalty to be paid for what he called a misadventure.
The three unions regretted that senior management staff of the different agencies were left stranded without offices and working tools while junior staff were helpless without provision for documents and working files and most worrisome was absence of backup for data.
