Knocks on foreign airlines for ill-treatment of Nigerian employees

By Ime Akpan
Lagos
Foreign airlines operating into Nigeria have come under serious attacks for the ill-treatment they mete out Nigerians working for them.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos, the head of research at Zenith Travels, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo said there were glaring anomalies noticed in the treatment of Nigerians working for the carriers and called on them (airlines) to respect the sanctity of their operational guidelines regarding the Nigerian content as stated in documents submitted to Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the bilateral air services agreement (BASA) signed by the respective countries.
“Workers of Air France/KLM in Nigeria under the aegis of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) recently embarked on a warning strike to drive home their agitation for better working conditions and improved salaries. The management’s response was simply distasteful. Rather than dialogue and negotiate since it was a warning strike, they tried to break the strike by hiring ad hoc personnel to run the system at a considerable security risk to the airport and nation at large while also using all forms intimidation to subdue the staff.
“Their pilots had given notice for a warning strike, while other staff domiciled in their base did so in the past without getting the same response from management. Rather, they negotiated and prepared their customers for the strike by cancelling flights, offering refund or allowing change of travel plans without penalty,” he said.
He also added that the airlines make a chunk of its revenue from the Nigerian routes which they spend lavishly on their indigenous staff to the detriment of the local personnel.
“These carriers lodge their expatriate staff in Ikoyi, Victoria Island etc, and also provide police escort and protection right from the airport to any point that catches their fancy; all at a huge cost to and detriment of the local staff take home pay.
“This opulence is funded by revenue generated from Nigerian passengers and primarily from our public sector that fill the upper cabin irrespective of price and season. Some of the managers brought into the country by these airlines, Air France /KLM inclusive have taken jobs designated for citizens of the host country while the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) looks the other way.
“Some years back, Air-France opened a sales outlet in Port-Harcourt in defiance to the rules of engagement, while BA stopped paying commission to our travel agents. These and other acts are the regulatory and competitive loopholes latched onto by the foreign airlines. The blame lies fully with the NCAA and the ministry that approve while also increasing frequency and gauge without due diligence,” said Ohunayo.
He also alleged that the airlines operate different standards in Nigeria and blamed the situation on compromise at the federal level.
“Air France operates into Bamako and Ouagadougou only yet has commercial partnership with Air Burkina and Air Mail. These carriers operate the vilified MD 83s which are used to lift Air France passengers to points beyond Bamako and Ouagadougou respectively.
“KLM invests in Kenya Airways while they (Air France/KLM) jointly operate twice daily to Lagos and once daily to Abuja and Port Harcourt. The largesse of the ministry and consistent bickering between the federal and state governments gave them and others the leeway. The price for us is the non-participation and investment in our carriers while Nigerians working with them are short changed,” he said.
Ohunayo advised the federal government to learn from some other countries that dictated the terms of engagement to foreign carriers operating in their territories.
“If the government does not know how to save Nigerians and the industry in particular then I advise they speak to Venezuela that gave stringent conditions for repatriating revenue generated from their soil. The foreign airlines threatened begged and voluntarily reduced frequencies and gauge. Also the Russia, China and Israel have fashioned policies to protect their carriers and professionals,” he said.
Ohunayo said all over the world, airlines are still investing and partnering and wondered why the domestic carriers are not taken into reckoning.
“Singapore Airlines just partnered with the TATA family to start a new carrier in India; Ethiopian Airlines has just partnered Malawian government to start a new carrier and also uses the Togo-based Asky Airline to undercut us; Etihad pretends to compete with Emirates but for those that can discern they complement each other; they bought shares in Air Seychelles and lately got Alitalia under their belt.
Why are Nigerian airlines being bypassed? Even the Super Eagles went to South Africa to play against BafanaBafana on South African Airways, not Arik Air that operates to Johannesburg.
He called on the federal government to put in place a national airline policy that would modernize air traffic control, stabilize the price of aviation fuel, improve regulatory reforms, strengthen the domestic carriers and increase private participation in aviation business.