Chukwudi Akasike and Olawunmi Ojo

Members of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers on Thursday protested against the disparity in salaries and other allowances paid indigenous pilots compared to expatriates by Bristow Helicopters.

As a result, the pilots and engineers, embarked on a two-day warning strike by suspending their operations.

NAAPE said it had been in dispute with the management of the Bristow Group over the pay disparity and absence of valid conditions of service for Nigerian pilots and engineers compared to their expatriate counterparts, who work for the same group.

In another development, aviation workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Air Transport Employees, have threatened to ground the operations of Caverton Helicopters in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt in the next seven days if their salaries were not paid.

In a letter by the Acting Secretary General of NUATE, Olayinka Abioye, to the Managing Director of Caverton Helicopters dated March 30, 2016, the union warned that there would be no further discussion on the issue as all efforts to resolve it maturely had proved abortive.

Abioye said the message served as a final notice of industrial action, and asked that all Caverton Helicopters workers be prepared for a strike action.

He also said the letter served as notice to the public and clients of Caverton, adding that due to persistent anti-labour practices, the union had resolved to ground the firms operations in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt if the salaries of the workers were not reinstated.

There were demonstrations by NAAPE members at the Lagos and Port Harcourt offices of Bristow Helicopters.

In Port Harcourt, the National President of NAAPE, Isaac Balami, and the state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Chika Onuegbu, led the demonstrators, who said that for the past 10 years, Nigerians working as pilots and engineers with Bristow had endured untold suffering due to unfair and mindless policies of its management.

Balami said, They treat the pilots and engineers like they are in a slave camp. You will see a co-pilot who just has 200-hour experience from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada earning far more than their Nigerian counterparts who have been working for years. A job that a Nigerian can do, they sack him and give it to a foreigner and pay him more.

Speaking on the reason for the demonstrations, NAAPE spokesman, Ocheme Aba, said all efforts by the association to get the Bristow management to correct the acts of injustice and violation of the constitution of Nigeria as well as contravention of the Bristow Code of Business Integrity have failed to yield any positive result.

He stated that managements proposal on the issues dated February 11, 2016 was nothing but a disingenuous mockery of Nigerians and an undisguised insult on workers collective intelligence, as it offered nothing but took away even more from them.

Cornelius Onuoha of Verdant Zeal, publicists to Bristow, expressed disappointment with the picketing of the companys offices.

Meanwhile, following the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Labour late on Thursday, NAAPE suspended the industrial action.

The General Secretary, NAAPE, Femi Ajagbe, told The PUNCH that the ministry had advised the union to stop its action and maintain the status quo until a meeting scheduled for April.

With respect to Caverton, one of the unionists explained that the situation became worse in September, 2015 when the management unilaterally reduced the workers salaries without consulting them or the union.

But the Managing Director, Caverton Helicopters, Mr. Josiah Choms, explained that the company was doing its best to retain workers in spite of the drop in oil price and cash crunch being experienced globally, which were affecting the business.

He said, I do not understand the unions threat. Weve engaged the union in the light of the global economic meltdown, which is not a specific Caverton situation. We discussed how clients have requested for discounts, some of them have even dropped aircraft.

We are not an airline that flies based on passenger traffic. We work on contracts. But with the dwindling revenue strain, there is no other way but to look at how to increase efficiency and cut our costs.

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