Ibadan Airport workers protest infusion of anti labour clauses into aviation bill

From Ogundele Olanrewaju

Aviation workers at the Ibadan Airport, on Monday joined their colleagues across the country to protest what they described as anti labour clauses in the new aviation bills, that awaits the assent of President Mohammadu Buhari.

The workers are staff of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE).

The protesters in their scores were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions and sang solidarity songs while moving peacefully round the airport premises.

Some of the placards’ inscriptions read : “Aviation workers not essential service providers’; ‘Our rights to protest is covered under International Labour Organisation’; ‘Prohibition of Aviation union activities is evil’ and ‘Workers’ mouth cannot be gagged by any legislation’.

Addressing the protesters, Ibadan ATSSSAN chairman, Mr Olayade Oyewole, said the aviation workers were against the anti labour clauses inserted into the aviation bills recently ammended.

According to Oyewole, early this year, a committee was set up to look into the Act that established some parastatals in the aviation industry, where the union was fully represented and agreed on some of the clauses to be ammended.

“But to our surprise, when the ammended document came out we discovered that some repressive clauses which wasn’t agreed upon,
have been infused into the document.

“Part of what was inserted indicate that aviation unions will not have the right to protest again; Unions will not have the right to go on strike, also workers will have no right to picket.

“We found these clauses to be against labour law, thus the new bill when assented to by the President will restrain the rights of unions and obliterate unionism in the aviation sector

“So, we want the new aviation act to stop and that President Mohammadu Buhari should not assent his signature to it.

Other union leaders, Gbenga Kayode; Binuyo Akinkunmi; Ibrahim Abimbola; Tunde Badmus and John Adebayo took turn to address the protesters.

The protest, however did not in anyway distrupt activities at the airport.