Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, has said unions in the aviation sector may embark on an industrial action over what it termed the Federal Government’s 50 per cent deduction from some of the aviation agencies’ Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.
National President of ATSSSAN, Mr Ahmadu Illitrus, who spoke in Ibadan at the association's National Executive Council meeting themed: ‘Challenges of Labour Unions in a Depressing Economy: Aviation Sector in View,’ said the generals-secretary of the major unions in the sector had been directed to meet next week to deliberate on the issue.
Illitrus wondered why the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, were mandated to remit 50 per cent of their earnings despite the fact that they were not revenue generating organisations.
According to him, the rebate wasn't in conformity with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, Document 1982 on charges and cost recovery.
His words: “This issue to me is an existential one in the industry. We have been on this matter and have written several letters in the past to the government, explaining why the aviation agencies should be removed from the remittance of their IGRs under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Our reasons are very clear. In aviation, what we do as government agencies, we don’t make profit per se, we charge for services.
“We took this issue with the outgone minister, Sen Hadi Sirika and the moment Mr Festus Keyamo was appointed as the new minister for the sector, we tabled this matter before him and in our interactions, he gave us his words that something was going to be done about it.
“As I speak to you, the implementation of that 50 per cent has commenced and the agencies are groaning because of the dire resources. Worst of it all is that their accounts were blocked and another TSA account was opened for them. They were unable to access funds to service their various operations. Agencies like NAMA, NCAA, NCAT. Even where students' school fees go into, which include feeding money, the 50 per cent is deducted.
“The generals-Secretary of the various unions would meet in Lagos in the next one week to consider positions for the consideration of the various unions. We hope that in the next one week, we should be able to take a position to communicate to the government and if nothing is done, we may be forced to embark on a protest in the future. The decision will be made in the next one week.”
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