Nigeria’s aviation workers have given airlines and other firms a fresh seven-day ultimatum. They want them to pay the five percent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) that they owe. If these debts are not cleared, the workers plan to start nationwide protests.
This warning comes from the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE). It follows a previous 14-day notice given on July 8. That ultimatum ended on July 23 without any action from the airline operators.
The five percent Ticket Sales Charge is a government fee on every airline ticket sold in Nigeria. The money collected goes to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). It is shared among aviation agencies to help with safety, security, and other important duties.
This latest warning comes after airlines said they would stop collecting and sending in the five percent Ticket Sales Charge for the NCAA. They claimed this system was no longer workable. PREMIUM TIMES reported that this raised worries about how aviation agencies would be funded and who would manage the levy in the future.
In a statement signed by ATSSSAN General Secretary, Frances Akinjole, and NUATE Deputy General Secretary, Odinaka Igbokwe, the unions said the operators have ignored their warnings and failed to pay the charges.
“Our earlier 14-day ultimatum has expired, and regrettably, willful non-compliance has been recorded,” the unions said.
They pointed out that not paying the required charges is hurting aviation agencies. This lack of funds affects their ability to do their jobs well.
“The aviation agencies remain starved of the required funds to keep our skies safe, while the conditions of service of our members in the various agencies continue to be jeopardised because of the non-remittance of the Ticket Sales Charge,” the statement added.
The unions stated that holding back the funds has weakened the agencies financially and harmed workers' welfare.
They warned that this situation could lead to safety and security risks in aviation.
“This unnecessary demotivation factor to the air transport worker is a security and safety risk,” they said.
The unions declared they could not sit back anymore. They issued what they called a final seven-day notice to all airlines and companies that owe money.
“We can no longer helplessly fold our hands and allow the safety of our airspace to remain compromised,” the statement said.
They added: “We hereby issue a seven-day notice to every TSC defaulter to remit the total debt owed to the agencies. Failure to do so will result in our unions taking concrete actions at their various premises.”
If the problem is not sorted out after the seven days, the planned protests could disrupt airline services and other aviation activities across the country. This would add to the recent operational problems in the sector.
As of now, neither the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) nor the NCAA has responded to the unions' latest ultimatum.
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