The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) has said that it is engaging the unions and bringing to an end the disruption in flight services occasioned by the industrial action embarked upon by a section of its staff.
Recall JournalNG reported that the strike action which commenced at 12am on Monday left hundreds of passengers of local and foreign airlines across airports in the country stranded.
Airlines that the ground handling company handles their check-in and ramp services could not board their flight or attend to in-bound flights and other passenger and cargo facilitation process.
NAHCO in a statement by its Group Executive Director, Dr. Olusola Obabori, acknowledged that some of its clients were being put through a difficult situation by the insistence of some staff to down tools, despite a subsisting order of court which restrained them from doing so.
Obabori noted that the company regrets all the inconveniences, adding that it is already engaging the Unions and other stakeholders and are positive the situation would be resolved within hours.
He explained further: “We understand the power of negotiation. The Company which has arguably the best welfare package among the local players in the aviation industry will do all that is absolutely necessary to make its workforce happy even as it delights its customers.
“This situation would be resolved speedily as it is detrimental to the staff, the Company and its esteemed clients. It would be recalled that aviation unions, NUATE and ATSSSAN last week gave a five – day notice of strike to NAHCO management citing slow progress in negotiation for salary review.
“The Company which just promoted about 2,000 members of its workforce asked that accelerated negotiation be continued in February to enable the Company stabilize from the financial effect of the recent promotions.
“Undaunted, the unions gave the notice of strike prompting the Management of the Company to seek for court intervention to prevent the industrial action while negotiation proceeds in a serene and conducive atmosphere”.