Unions Lock Out Minister as FAAN Workers Embark on Warning Strike

The efforts made to address the workers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to forestall their one-day warning strike was yesterday thwarted when the unions locked up the venue of the meeting at the headquarters of the agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.Not sure of the plan of the workers, the minister sent the Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, who came with some top officials of his management to open discussion with the workers before the minister’s arrival, but the unions, made up of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN), shunned the entreaties by Yadudu.

Not ready to yield to the request of the minister, the unions addressed the workers and condemned the plan of the federal government to concession the terminals of the four international airports in the country located in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, and insisted also that FAAN management must restore full salary of the workers.

The President of NUATE, Ben Nnabue, explained why the FAAN workers decided to embark on strike.

According to him, “This is a warning strike, and the minister cannot come and talk to our workers directly without us. This action is just for today, after which, we will renegotiate with the management. But if the minister comes to meet with the FAAN management without the unions, the strike will continue.”