NATIONAL Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has issued one-week ultimatum to the Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to cause the release of promotion letters of all members of staff who passed the last promotion examination irrespective of their status or risk industrial upheaval.
In the letter made available to Nigerianflightdeck.com, signed by Secretary General, Olayinka Abioye, NUATE also petitioned the Ministry of Transportation, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command, and other unions and placed other branches on alert on its plan to shut the agency should the agency not accede to its demands.
NUATE stated that consequent upon the humongous complaints, agitations and expressed frustrations and death arising from the recently released promotion letters to members of Staff of the authority, and bearing in mind that peace of mind of the worker translates to industrial peace in the workplace, they are compelled to draw the attention of Management to the “unwholesome and unacceptable outcome†of the last promotion exercise, which has left several suitably qualified members of staff out of being promoted in spite of the fact that they qualified to be invited to such promotion exercise, sat for same and passed their relevant examinations and other ancillary criteria there to.
Abioye noted that after due consultations and in-depth investigations, they were highly disappointed and shocked by the processes adopted by the Management to promote a “few†out of the “meritorious lot†that ought to have benefited, thereby creating unnecessary panic, mental agonies and anxiety within the NCAA, hence this letter aimed at getting deserved attention and urgent positive promise to review the exercise in the collective interest of all parties.
He further stated that notwithstanding the informal discussions shared with a few section of the management on different occasions, “we make bold to state that a disgruntled worker is an accident waiting to happen and considering the mere fact that NCAA carries very heavy responsibilities on its shoulders, more so at this critical stage in the industry, workers in the Aviation House, should ordinarily be carried like eggs, pampered like newborn babies and treated with dignity and respect, being staff/members of the regulatory houseâ€.
He alleged that the management of NCAA violated extant rules, conditions of service and NCAA’s scheme of service to create an administrative lacuna so much so, that for example, out of five staff that passed an examination, only one would be given letter of promotion. How come?
His words, “We have a situation where a staff, who has been an AGM since 2008 was promoted to DGM “effective†2017 whereas his date of promotion ought to have been 2011. What manner of administrative crookedness and injustice is this? Such an individual should be preparing for consideration and promotion to being a General Manager?
“Wittingly or otherwise, rather than open up space for suitably qualified members of staff to enjoy the benefits of their long “sufferings/perseverance†over the years in their contributions to the success of the authority, Management blocked their ways by engaging in antics unbecoming of a first class parastatalâ€.
Abioye stated that in the same vein, management has not been able to explain how and why someone without any knowledge and or background in air transport would be brought into the system and placed on GL16, at the expense of more suitably qualified personnel?
“Why should someone be posted to the NCAA from another agency when the NCAA or the individual did not request for such? Why is the authority silent on this untidy development, which has deprived qualified personnel in the NCAA from occupying such position?
By the spirit and content of the NCAA’s Scheme of Service for example, in Finance and Accounts, he disclosed that a staff can only be promoted to GL13 only if such an individual qualifies as a member of a registered professional body; ditto for those aspiring to GL14, one must be professionally qualified, acquire relevant certificate(s) to be on GL14 or GL15 but what has Management done, with this promotion? We see these anomalies as breach of the rules, with impunity, which he reiterated was not unacceptable.
Given the inexplicable delay, neglect and or failure of Management to do the right thing by releasing letters of promotion to all members of staff who passed the last examination and other relevant criteria attached there to, he added that their members have been placed on the alert to await further directives on our next line of action after this letter, unless and until management accedes to their demand as aforementioned.
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