Afrigather 
The Commerce Union Congress has warned the federal authorities in opposition to implementing directives prohibiting industrial motion amongst aviation staff.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, in a press release on Wednesday, stated the proposed ban was a critical menace to industrial peace and concord within the nation, including that it’s going to influence the forthcoming election and handing over negatively.
“And forceful implementation of this directive by the federal government will probably be met with stiff resistance that may result in the breakdown of legislation and order within the nation,” he stated.
Osifo, nonetheless, famous that the Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, who introduced the ban on behalf of the Buhari administration ought to know that the aviation legislation he refers to which he claims empowers the federal government to ban strikes, can override neither the Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria nor the basic rights of Nigerians to withdraw their labour in the event that they deem it needed.
He stated, “That is unambiguously acknowledged within the ILO Conference 87 on Freedom of Affiliation and the Proper to prepare.
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“Part 20 of the 1999 Structure (as amended) bans compelled or obligatory labour which suggests no Nigerian citizen could be compelled to work if she or he chooses to not work.”
The TUC boss additional stated the federal government and its handlers ought to at all times do all the pieces potential to handle problems with welfare raised by completely different unions and likewise respect the letters of any collective settlement that it entered into.
“That is the one approach strike could be averted and never by any surreptitious or clandestine strikes or pronouncements,” he stated including that there isn’t any sector whose providers isn’t important; “Is it well being or Training?”
The labour chief defined additional that Part 40 of the Structure additionally states that Nigerians have the basic proper to unionization.
In keeping with Usifo, there isn’t any extra elementary proper in unionization than that of staff to unite and wrestle for his or her pursuits which additionally contains industrial motion.
He stated, “The Minister’s declare that strikes are pointless as a result of: “As a authorities, our ears are at all times open, the federal government is open to listening to any grievances and there are procedures for coping with these sorts of grievances” sounds hole.
“If certainly authorities listens, it might have listened to Air Transport Providers Senior Workers Affiliation of Nigeria members and the aviation employees’s long-standing calls for reasonably than pressure them right into a strike.
“If actually authorities listens, it might not have allowed the schools academics strike to tug on for eight months just because it didn’t honour an settlement it willfully entered into. And even after the strike was known as off; it continues to withhold the unpaid salaries of the teachers, which itself is provocative and unfair labour observe.”
The TUC president nonetheless pressured that strike within the aviation trade isn’t a peculiarly Nigerian challenge; “it’s a proper exercised universally by staff”.
He opined that previously few months, airport and airline employees in France, Belgium, Portugal and Italy have gone on strike.
He equally stated that the identical week that aviation employees went on strike in Nigeria, their counterparts in another nations additionally did.
“For example, on January 25, 2023, aviation employees in Portugal and Germany went on strike whereas these in the UK have known as a strike for February 1, 2023.
“It’s wishful considering for the Federal Authorities to assume it will possibly trample on the rights of Nigerian staff,” he stated.
Usifo pressured that any try by the federal authorities to implement an unlawful ban on strikes will probably be vigorously resisted.
“By this declaration, TUC is inserting all its members on alert to be prepared to hold out solidarity actions with putting staff in any sector if the federal government tries to criminalize such an motion.
“The TUC assures ATTSSSAN members and aviation staff and certainly all of the working individuals of our nation of its solidarity and its readiness to facet with them in all their professional disputes with authorities or employers in furtherance of their pursuits.”
He added that the Buhari administration ought to reasonably consider good governance, make petroleum merchandise out there, defend Nigerians in opposition to rampaging bandits and hyperinflation and permit a peaceable transition of energy reasonably than provoke pointless labour unrest.
He added, “The TUC calls on all organizations together with skilled and market associations, scholar unions and civil society organizations to hitch in resisting authorities makes an attempt to abridge the basic rights of the Nigerian individuals when that point comes. A sew in time saves 9”.
