By Chinelo Obogo
The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), has revealed that five former members of staff of the defunct Nigerian Airways passed on within the last seven days without receiving the final severance package promised them by the federal government since the liquidation of the airline by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
Speaking at the Workers Day celebration at the ATSSSAN secretariat in Lagos on Wednesday, the first Vice President of the association, Emmanuel Jaja, said that 100 former workers of the country’s defunct national carrier have died since the last verification and part payment exercise carried out during former President Muhammad Buhari’s administration in 2019.
“We wish to lament the death of five former members of staff of the defunct Nigerian Airways who lost their lives in the last one week, including the pilot whose plane was hijacked in 1993, Captain Makpo Omodiagbe. They died without receiving their full benefits from the federal government after the liquidation of the airline. The government must endeavour to pay the severance of the remaining members’ staff so that they can enjoy the labour of their lives before they pass on,” he said.
He also said the labour union is against the recent increase in electricity tariff in the country amidst the epileptic power supply in the nation, saying, “We call for a return to status quo. Government must also urgently address the issues of minimum wages for workers in order not to incur the wrath of the Nigerian workers.”
Speaking on the issue of companies in the aviation industry that have refused to allow their staff to join trade unions in the sector, he said, “We wish to reiterate that ATSSSAN in collaboration with NUATE and other unions will make the industry uncomfortable for airlines and companies that has refused to allow their workforce to unionise.”