Air Nigeria workers protest unpaid benefits

Sacked Air Nigeria workers protested their recent sack and asked that they be paid their benefits, after termination of their contracts. They gathered at the  Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, on Friday, to make their grievances known to the company.

The company's Chief Executive Officer, Jimoh Ibrahim, had earlier announced the shut down of flight operations for a year and the immediate sack of about 800 of its workers, with a small fraction to remain on their jobs.

The airline's flight operations were scheduled to shut down by Monday, September 10, 2012.
 
The President of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Isaac Balami, described the situation as "surprising in the 21st century."

"First of all, there was a time they spent two years, no worker went on leave. You can imagine a pilot, an aircraft engineer, for good two years no rest," he said.

"Secondly, they can't even access health insurance. They are paying tax, they don't have tax clearance. A particular amount is being deducted from their salary every month and this money is not remitted to the purse of the cooperative society."

Also, the protesters accused Ibrahim of selective payment of staff, alleging that some members of staff were recently paid their May salaries.

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