The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has allowed Turkish Airlines to start moving stranded passengers to their various destinations.
LEADERSHIP reports that the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), had picketed Turkish Airlines over alleged “highhandedness and severe maltreatment” of workers of the Airline, including unjustifiable dismissal and forced resignation of seven workers.
However, the picketing has resulted in passengers being stranded at the airports in Lagos and Istanbul.
However, in a press statement by the vice chairman, Lagos State Council NLC, Olabisi Adebayo Idowu, said the intervention of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA), as well as the Nigerian Police Force and Directorate of State Security, Airports Command, made them stopped the picketing.
According to Idowu, the decision of the labour union was purely on humanitarian grounds.
“At the intervention of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), as well as the Nigerian Police Force and Directorate of State Security, Airports Command, the Congress has taken the decision to allow the passengers stranded at the Lagos and Istanbul airports who were booked on the flights for 21/05/2024 to be airlifted by Turkish Airlines. This decision is purely on humanitarian grounds.
The picketing exercise other than as allowed above shall remain firmly in place until all the demands of NLC are fully met.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also brokered peace between the National Union of Air Transport Employees NUATE and European carrier, Turkish Airlines that will allow the airline airlift its Nigeria passengers who have been stranded at the International wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos following the picketing of the airline by NUATE on Tuesday.
Following the NCAA intervention, NUATE has temporarily agreed to shelve further interruption of Turkish Airlines operations in Lagos and Abuja to allow the airlift of stranded passengers both inbound and outbound from across the world.
The agreement was reached after a meeting with the representative of the acting director general, Civil Aviation, Michael Achimugu who is also the director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA.
Achimugu had on Wednesday evening after meeting with the country manager of Turkish Airlines in Nigeria promised to meet with the union on Thursday to resolve the impasse.
The meeting had representatives of NUATE led by its general secretary, Comrade Ochema Aba, the Lagos regional manager NCAA, Bukola Teriba among others.
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