By Adesina Soyooye
Just back to business, after months out of business, no thanks to COVID-19, Arik Air, once Nigeria’s most prominent Airline, is in for another problem. Its business may be shut down again  if the National Union of Transport Employees, NUATE, carries out it’s threat.
The Union in a letter to the Managing Director/ CEO of the Airline, has given a 15-day ultimatum to meet its requests, or face the consequences.
In the face of the lockdown in the county, and other parts of the world, the Airline’s management had sent 90% of its staff on forced leave without pay.
The remaining 10% had their salaries slashed to almost the barest minimum.
At the time, NUATE, the umbrella union of Aviation Unions, had also written to the Airline’s management asking about what would become of the welfare of their members.
There was no response.
Subsequent letters were also not acknowledged.
One of the complainants is that the Airline had become a slave camp for their members where very few staff members are at work, and over-worked, while staff members who should help are still on forced life. “The slave-camp regime presently ongoing in Arik whereby one person is being compelled to perform the functions of five or more persons must be ended immediately. This is especially so as there are many staff still at home in forced leave”, NUATEÂ said.
The Union, also, decried the continous placing of its members under forced unpaid leave, and called for its end, and payment of outstanding arrears.
Said the Union in the letter, “The subsisting practice of placing our members on unpaid leave must come to an end, and their outstanding arrears be paid without further delay.”
But many have asked where the Union thinks the Airline will get money from to pay, dismissing the Union’s stand as unreasonable and insensitive.
Since March, they argue, Nigeria’s airspace has been closed so, from where will the money come from?, they ask.
The Airline which paraded the most modern aircraft in Nigeria , and had a number of them, has become a ghost of itself, and is on receivership by AMCON. Their fleet is depleted, and it has lost its pride of place.
Following is the letter from the NAUTE to the Arik management.
“Our Unions welcome Arik Air Ltd back to flight operations after months of nationwide closure of airports due to the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic.
“You may recall that since Management’s unilateral declaration of unpaid leave for our members as stated in your mail of 23rd April 2020, our several interventions in matters that affect the well being of our members have been rebuffed by the Management.
“Our letters of 27th of April 2020 and 11th of May 2020 to Management still remain not acknowledged and unattended to till date, and we have no hope that this letter will be treated differently.
However, we are now compelled to state unequivocally that:
“1.Most importantly, staff Conditions of Service (CoS) documents must be signed-of, on or before the next fifteen (15) days, considering the understanding that management is aware of our last position on the outstanding singular item,
“2.    The slave-camp regime presently ongoing in Arik whereby one person is being compelled to perform the functions of five or more persons must be ended immediately. This is especially so, as there are many staff still at home on forced unpaid leave.
“3.The subsisting practice of placing our members on unpaid leave must come to an end, and their outstanding arrears be paid without further delay.
While we are not under any illusion that Management is interested in engaging our Unions on the issues at hand, may you please note that this letter serves as a notice of 15 days to meet the above stated demands.
“Failure of Management to do as demanded would push us to the next stage, the consequences of which we shall not be held responsible.”
It was signed by:
Comrades Frances Akinjole,                                             Ocheme Aba,
Deputy General Secretary
General Secretary, ATSSSAN                                                                                  NUATE, Comrade Umoh Ofonime T.,
Deputy General Secretary
NAAPE, and copied to Branch Chairmen and Secretaries.
As at the time of writing this report, there has been no response from the Airline’s management.
