Workers Demand Involvment In Planned Port Harcourt Airport Concession

On Wednesday, flight workers at Rivers State’s Port Harcourt International Airport held a march for solidarity against an alleged plot by the Federal Government to consign the airport without their involvement.

The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions urging the government to include them in the process.

The Chairman of ATSSSAN, Razaq Animashaun, said the essence of the procession was to create awareness about the “secret proposed concession” of the airport and to let the government know that they are not involved.

We are attempting to raise awareness that the Federal Government is not interested in what is happening. We are not involved. Our national branch instructed us to hold this congress in order to educate our staff about how to stay on top of their game and not panic. We are supposed to be involved in any concessions process”, he said.

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When questioned about whether the government had disclosed the alleged plans, Animashaun responded that recent government visits and activities demonstrate that the airport is about to be made more accessible.

Because if there isn’t such a secret, they won’t be asking you how much money we’ve been making for the past three years, how many employees are there overall, and other things, he said. “We have the documents that requested data for this kind of process.”

Animashaun added that the unions opposed all forms of government that lacked transparency and excluded key stakeholders. Because we don’t want job losses, he continued, “The union should be involved in any concessions to the airport so that we can be able to know where our staff belongs.”

Akagha Emmanuel, the ANAP chairman at the airport, inquired on his part as to why the government was continuing with the concession plans while the case was being heard in court. He stated that they want to be a part of the planned concession in the interests of their employees but don’t have any issues with it.

“They should carry the union along. A caveat emptor case is already being heard in court. We want them to carry the union along, carry pensioners along, carry the staff along. We don’t have issues with concessioning the airport, but we carry the passengers,” Emmanuel said.

“Our major issues are the faith of our staff after concessioning, our staff, are they going to be paid off? Before and after the concession, how will you handle us? Carry union along and concession it”, he added.

Source: Channels TV