Landing facilities: Air controllers begin strike on Monday

The Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association has announced plans to commence a nationwide strike as from Monday.

The association made this known in a statement by its President, Mr. Eyaru Victor, in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, its members, in the employ of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, will withdraw their services indefinitely from Monday, January 19, 2015 as a result of the “insensitivity of the NAMA Management towards the professional and welfare matters affecting Air Traffic Controllers.”

The statement said, “We regret to express our grievances on the lack of the recognition of the long-standing sacrifices and display of patriotism by Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers being among the prime professionals in the aviation industry at keeping the Nigerian airspace safe despite various challenges being faced in carrying out the safety critical functions.

“We wish to inform the public that incessant air traffic delays and cancellations during this season were not only due to reduction in visibility, but reasonably due to non-serviceability of navigational aids such as Instrument Landing Systems, VOR at destination aerodromes.

“The TRACON in Lagos has also witnessed frequent total collapse in recent times. In the past four days, it has collapsed totally twice. When any of the equipment fails, the workload the Air Traffic Controllers and pilots increases, thus increasing the level of fatigue thereby encouraging infringement on air safety.”

It added that repeated letters requesting the review of its professional allowances approved as palliatives pending the actualisation of Controllers’ request for creation of a salary structure had gone unanswered by the NAMA management.

“This is unacceptable to us. Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers are ridiculously paid compared to their counterparts within the Sub-Sahara Africa.”

The association recalled that members that participated in the World Bank-sponsored overseas training between April and July, 2010 had not been paid part of their overseas training course allowances despite earlier agreement on the part of the NAMA management to settle them.