Members of the Nigerian Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have expressed dismay over the decision of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to float a new airline, known as NG Eagle.

The union stated that, as an aviation trade union, NUATE considered the new airline to be a very positive and welcome development, adding that a new airline would normally create job opportunities, provide incentives for deeper business penetration and generally widen the Nigerian aviation horizon.

NUATE however, pointed out that there were ominous signs that what should ordinarily be a lofty project would likely run into a heavy storm being created by a thoroughly fouled and convoluted industrial atmosphere at Arik Air.

In an official statement issued Friday and signed by the General Secretary, Ocheme Aba, the union stated that, “We consider it most unfortunate that an odd combination of AMCON’s egoistic, evasive and self-defeating tendencies on the one hand, and Arik Air’s unrelenting penchant for courting crisis on the other hand, as well as severally demonstrated lack of capacity/disdain for labour relations practice have evoked a perplexing atmosphere of forlornness in the Airline.”

The aviation union added that under this atmosphere, it was practically impossible to be hopeful of any good thing.

According to NUATE, presently AMCON was in receivership of two airlines: Arik Air and Aero Contractors, being a 60% shareholder in the latter.

It therefore wondered why AMCON would be floating another airline.

NUATE said: “We decipher that AMCON’s unstated objective is to open a window of business opportunity as a way to recoup its heavy financial losses through the heavy debts in Arik and Aero. But, surely NUATE can’t be the only ones wondering what sort of business ingenuity there could be in running three airlines simultaneously.

“We have it on good authority that AMCON’s real intention is to sidestep the debt overhang, particularly in Arik air, while continuing to make money from the airline business without any real capital injection. This it intends to achieve by moving all valuable assets of Arik Air, including human assets, into the new NG Eagle. The questions are: What becomes of the carcass of Arik Air and its personnel after such evil wind?”

The union further said that AMCON had already moved some personnel of Arik Air to NG Eagle, while being loudly silent on the service records of such personnel in their mother airline.

The union equally warned that “if this conundrum by AMCON will lead to depopulation of the employed and increase in poverty, as is clearly established, shouldn’t one wonder why the Government and its relevant agencies appear to either be acquiescent or in actual aid of the furtherance of the obnoxious objective.”

It also called for an urgent intervention by appropriate government agencies such as the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, stating that they had raised the labour aspects before the management of Arik Air in the form of trade disputes.

NUATE said: “Should the Management raise itself to the needed open mindedness and heartedness then we are willing and desirous of resolving them amicably as expected of progressive social partners.

“Then we shall welcome NG Eagle with our Solidarity Song and pop champagne.

“But, in the event that the reverse of the above is the case, then we shall sing our Solidarity Song as a call to the struggle to fight for the rights of Arik Air’s long suffering employees. The ball is in their court.”

TodayNG