Passengers have been stranded after aviation unions grounded Air Peace operations, disrupting flights and leaving travellers waiting for alternative arrangements.
Three aviation unions, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), jointly enforced the action following allegations that the airline had obstructed workers from freely joining trade unions and failed to remit ticket sales charges collected on behalf of aviation agencies.
Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have backed the unions as they intensified pressure on affected domestic airlines to address their grievances.
The action began in the early hours of Tuesday, with union members moving to enforce the shutdown of operations in Lagos and Abuja.
At the centre of the dispute is the alleged failure by some airlines to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge collected from passengers.
Aviation unions maintained that the funds are intended to support the operations of aviation agencies and that withholding the money has affected the implementation of negotiated conditions of service for workers in those agencies.
Labour also accused some domestic carriers of creating an environment where employees are unable to freely affiliate with unions of their choice.
According to the unions, some workers have become reluctant to indicate their interest in union membership because they fear discrimination, intimidation or victimisation by their employers.
They said the latest action was not their first attempt to resolve the dispute, insisting that affected airlines had been given sufficient time to address the issues before the escalation.
Moreover, they had previously issued a series of warnings, including a three-day notice of strike, after earlier engagements failed to produce what labour considered satisfactory resolutions.
In their demands, the unions called on the affected airlines to formally assure employees that they could join unions without fear of retaliation.
They also demanded the immediate payment of allegedly withheld five per cent ticket sales charges to the relevant aviation agencies.
The unions said the continued non-remittance of the funds had undermined collective bargaining agreements reached for employees of aviation agencies.
In a statement, labour said the affected airlines must provide “unequivocal declarations” through official communications confirming that workers were free to join unions of their choice.
Furthermore, the unions demanded the release of funds they described as operational revenue belonging to aviation agencies, arguing that doing so would enable the agencies to implement workers’ agreed conditions of service.
Based on this recent development, the dispute has now brought a long-running disagreement between organised labour and airline operators into direct contact with air travellers, with passengers bearing the immediate consequences of the industrial action.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and aviation unions have previously disagreed over the ticket sales charge, with labour alleging that airlines collect the levy from passengers but fail to remit it as required.
Aviation unions have also linked the funding dispute to broader concerns about the welfare of aviation workers and the ability of regulatory and operational agencies to meet their obligations.
The picketing of Air Peace subsequently disrupted flight operations, leaving passengers unable to proceed with their scheduled journeys.
As of the time of filing this report, attempts to obtain Air Peace’s response were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report. Messages sent to the airline’s spokesperson had not received a response.