Abuja, Aug. 16, 2024 – Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, on Friday appealed to labour unions in his ministry to shelf their planned industrial action.
The unions had announced plans to go on one-day nationwide strike on Aug. 21 to protest against the continued deduction of 50 percent from the internally generated revenue of key aviation agencies.
They argued that the agencies in the ministry are cost recovery, but not profitmaking agencies which cannot survive on half of their revenue.
Responding to the threat, Keyamo urged the workers to remain calm and maintain industrial peace, while the government is working to resolve the issue.
He made the appeal in a statement posted on his official X handle.
The minister wrote: “We understand the significance of the issues raised and recognise the vital role that our aviation workforce plays in ensuring the safety, efficiency, and smooth operation of the industry.
“The Ministry is committed to addressing these challenges in a manner that ensures the continued viability and sustainability of the sector while maintaining the highest standards of service delivery.”
“The Honourable Minister wishes to assure the workers’ unions and other stakeholders that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very concerned about improvement of the Aviation sector and will give their demands due consideration with the goal of finding a lasting solution that balances both the fiscal needs of the government and the operational requirements of the Aviation Agencies.
“We appeal to all workers to remain calm and maintain industrial peace while the government is working assiduously towards amicably resolving the matter.” (GBN)
