AIR PEACE PICKETING: Due process followed, we owe passengers nothing - Unions

Unions in Nigeria's air transport sector have defended their recent picketing of the airline Air Peace, asserting that the industrial action was lawful and that they bear no responsibility for compensating passengers affected by the disruption. The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), supported by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), picketed Air Peace operations in Lagos and Abuja.

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Yesterday (last Tuesday) alone, we lost over N2 billion because of what happened. That is aside from compensation for passengers, which is now a third-party liability because the unions will be responsible for that, not Air Peace. They caused what happened.

The disruption followed a three-day ultimatum issued by NUATE and ATSSSAN. They demanded the remittance of the five percent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and an end to what they described as airlines' refusal to allow the unfettered unionization of their workers. Air Peace's Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, stated the airline lost over N2 billion on the day of the picketing, in addition to passenger compensation claims, which she deemed a third-party liability that the unions should cover.

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Do we have any contract with any passenger? There is no privity of contract between us and any of their passengers. So, how can we be liable?

However, Mr. Frances Akinjole, General Secretary of ATSSSAN, countered that the unions have no privity of contract with passengers and thus cannot be held liable. "Do we have any contract with any passenger? There is no privity of contract between us and any of their passengers. So, how can we be liable?" Akinjole questioned. He emphasized that torts committed during a labor action have immunity and that their actions were legitimate and lawful, having issued multiple notices to the airline.

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Torts committed during a labour action cannot be taken to court. There is immunity for that. What we did was legitimate and lawful. We issued a 14 days notice, a seven days notice and even magnanimously gave an additional three days.

Akinjole also addressed claims that Air Peace was specifically targeted, explaining that the action began with Air Peace because it was the airline that "kept responding, insisting that there was nothing we could do" when notices were issued. He pointed out that approximately 16 airlines are reportedly not allowing industrial democracy, and that Air Peace alone owes over N15 billion of the total withheld TSC.

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How could we have targeted Air Peace? We started with Air Peace. Was it only Air Peace that was anti-union? Any reasonable person would know where we ought to have started.