Following a couple of industrial actions by aviation workers that crippled operations and led to loss of revenue running into millions, an aviation union leader, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu has pointed to the poor relationship between the permanent secretary and the unions as being responsible.
The general secretary of Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu speaking on the Condition of Service (COS) of aviation workers which is one of the complaints raised by the unions disclosed that the permanent secretary has failed to put needed pressure on relevant authorities for the release of the Condition of Service and other demands made by the aviation workers.
He further told journalists that the Permanent Secretary does not have a cordial relationship with the unions which led to the avoidable warning strike by the unions in the sector towards the end of the last administration .
According to him, the unions do not enjoy embarking on strike actions or protest but are compelled to do so when there are communication gaps.
He said that the former Minister was relating well with the union leadership until the posting of Dr. Meribole Emmanuel to the Ministry,snce then and until the former minister left, things changed.
Saidu expressed fear that if the same approach of poor labor relations which he attributed to the perm secs background in medicine continues with this new administration , putting the unions at loggerhead with the new government it will not augur well for the sector .
Comr. Saidu stated that the warning strike embarked upon by the unions was as a result of the Permanent Secretary’s unfriendly disposition to the unions in the sector.
“The unions wrote to him severally on the need for the over delayed Condition of Service and Consequential Adjustment of Worker’s salaries due to the last Minimum Wage increment. He bluntly refused to meet with the Unions and also refused the Ministry of aviation to do same. instead, he traveled outside the Country on flimsy official reason ( during the strike) which a Director should have done”.
“The Permanent Secretary who has been pilling unnecessary and avoidable industrial pressure in the sector has severally never hidden his disdain for Trade Unions in the sector. Unlike the former Minister who before the posting of the Perm Sec would personally move to the Salaries and Wages to solve the impending problems , he came and never for once did anything directly or indirectly to get these problems solved. Instead, he discouraged the former Minister from doing so , perhaps in view of his attitude of not having anything to do with Unions’.
Comrade Saidu said If not for the Permanent Secretary’s attitude towards the matter, perhaps there would not have been any reason why the Unions will start writing to President Bola Tinubu for his intervention. Adding that one would have expected the supervising ministry to handle this at their level instead of allowing the new government of President Tinubu to be distracted by this solvable looming industrial crises but for the incapacity and non charlatan attitude of the Permanent Secretary.
According to the ANAP scribe, the permanent secretary has had several opportunities to better the lots of aviation workers especially when he was in charge of ministry of labour, but failed of which he was alway bragging about. He has really shown himself as anti workers and does not need to stain the new government with his reputation and place them in bad light with aviation workers. He said this government is working and we are hopefully happy and will not want the negative effects of Dr. Meribole’s influence to contaminate it and further induce labour challenges in the sector.
He suggested that the permanent secretary be reposted to enable the unions and the ministry clean up the sector and have a more approachable permanent Secretary.
Saidu also cited the permanent secretary’s alleged failure to advise the minister on the controversial Nigeria Air in which huge amount of money was spent without achieving any good result as further grounds for his reposting away from the aviation ministry.
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