A fresh industrial dispute is looming in Nigeria’s aviation sector as aviation workers have issued a seven-day ultimatum to airline operators and other defaulting organisations to settle outstanding 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charges owed to aviation agencies or face nationwide picketing.

The ultimatum, jointly signed by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Air Transport Employees, follows the expiration of an earlier 14-day notice served on July 8, which lapsed on July 23 without compliance from the affected operators.

The five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, a statutory levy collected on every airline ticket sold in Nigeria, is supposed to be remitted to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and shared among other aviation agencies to meet their financial obligations.

These funds are usually deducted by airline operators and remitted accordingly. However, until recently, the Airline Operators of Nigeria had been collecting the charge on behalf of the authorities before vowing to stop doing so.

In a strongly worded notice, the unions expressed disappointment over what they described as the “willful non-compliance” of airlines and other TSC defaulters, warning that the continued failure to remit the statutory charges is starving critical aviation agencies of funds needed to sustain safe and efficient operations.

The statement was signed by the General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, and the Deputy General Secretary of NUATE, Odinaka Igbokwe.

The statement reads partly, “Our earlier 14-day ultimatum has expired, and regrettably, willful non-compliance has been recorded.

“The aviation agencies remain starved of the required funds to keep our skies safe, while the conditions of service of our members in the various agencies continue to be jeopardised because of the non-remittance of the Ticket Sales Charge.”

According to the workers, the prolonged withholding of the statutory deductions has not only weakened the financial capacity of aviation agencies but has also negatively affected employees’ welfare, creating what they described as a dangerous situation for the country’s aviation industry.

“This unnecessary demotivation factor to the air transport worker is a security and safety risk,” the unions warned, stressing that the inability of agencies to access funds due to them could ultimately compromise the safety and security of Nigeria’s airspace.

Declaring that they could no longer remain passive, the unions announced a final seven-day notice to all defaulting airline operators and other indebted organisations.

They said, “We can no longer helplessly fold our hands and allow the safety of our airspace to remain compromised. We hereby issue a seven-day notice to every TSC defaulter to remit the total debt owed to the agencies. Failure to do so will result in our unions taking concrete actions at their various premises.” (The PUNCH)

Update news