Air Traffic Controllers Embark on Six Hours Strike to Paralyse Flight Movement

Passengers at the airport

Chinedu Eze

Air traffic Controllers under the aegis of National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on Thursday morning embarked on six hours warning strike to paralyse flight movement in the country, hinging their reason for the strike on alleged epileptic air navigation equipment and poor welfare.

But the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) which pre-empted the strike sent controllers who are senior management officials to the towers to control flight movement so the effect of the strike was not felt.

The controllers have threatened to go on strike three times in this year alone, insisting that the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency must abide by the agreement it reached with the controllers in their improved welfare last year.

The warning strike according to sources is a prelude to total industrial action scheduled to begin on Monday April 20, 2015.

Investigations reveal that flights were not disrupted at airports nationwide because the management of NAMA has put in place a contingency plan to mitigate any effects of the warning strike before the controllers called it off by 12 mid-day on Thursday.

An official of NAMA said the management has commenced discussions with members of the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers on how to resolve the issues affecting their welfare and working equipment.
The official said the managing director of NAMA , Ibrahim Abdulsalam is already in Abuja to meet relevant Ministry of Aviation officials on how to resolve the impending industrial action by air traffic controllers .
The official said by Friday, the matter would have been resolved amicably between NAMA and the striking air traffic controllers.

Last year at its annual general meeting in Kano, members of NATCA in a communique complained of epileptic air navigation equipment at airports nationwide, even as they complained about intolerable working conditions.

In statement the association said, " It is against the background of no action plan and political will to implement the agreements earlier reached with our association and others that has necessitated this corresponding action by air traffic controllers in Nigeria. Today's action will last six hours only as a warning sign but in preparation for a major and total industrial action which shall commence on Monday April 20, 2015, if relevant government bodies continue to threat air traffic controllers issues with utmost levy or neglect. Tempers are high, but industrial peace and harmony must be the concern of everybody.”
Last year, air traffic controllers cited incessant failure of air    navigation equipment at airports nationwide as part of the reasons why the association is embarking on strike. The association also complained about epileptic and alarming failure of air navigation equipment, which has increased the work load of both air traffic controllers and pilots.

A statement signed and issued by  the President and General Secretary respectively,Victor Egaru and Olawode Banji, they said it is disheartening that in the last two months that the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/ Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) equipment has been epileptic and alarming, thereby increasing the workloads of both ATCs and Pilots.

“Presently, the Instrument Landing System (ILS) serving the Lagos Runway 18R has been unserviceable for close to three months while the one serving the Second Runway (18L) have been epileptic for more than one month”.

“The distance measuring equipment on located with the VOR in Lagos has been out of service for a long time as well. Equipment in many airports including communication facilities suffer that same fate”.
They argued that at NAMA headquarters and station levels that provision of operational vehicles for ATC operations, including runway inspection that required dedicated and specialized vehicles, has been unattached to by Air Navigation service provider.

The ATCS explained that some employees in the agency have spent so much time and energy they would have expended in making facilities function optimally to feed the public with falsehoods as to the semi ability of the CNS/ATM equipment to cover their ineptitude.

The statement read “we can, however, say categorically that it is either the personnel responsible for the equipment are incompetent or the incessant failures are as a result of acts of sabotage on their part”