Aero Contractors sacks 1,200 workers, unions kick

Staff issued with redundancy letters

Airline grapples with challenges

Aero Contractors Airline has sacked 1,200 workers, representing 60 per cent of its 2,000 workforce. Letters of redundancy have been issued to the affected employees during the week

The Managing Director of the airline, Capt. Ado Sanusi, who confirmed the development in a statement issued yesterday in Lagos, said the workers would be paid their pension and gratuity. The airline, under the management of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), had been grappling with huge and unrealistic personnel cost, as well as other operational challenges worsened by lack of enough aircraft to keep all the workers meaningfully engaged. “The issuance of notification of redundancy is a business decision that will ensure Aero’s survival.

The current situation where over a thousand people are basically not engaged due to lack of serviceable aircraft is not sustainable for the airline. “The huge monthly salary associated with a bloated workforce will eventually kill the airline, which is not the intention of the current government,” Sanusi said.

According to him, Aero Contractors currently has aircraft-to-employee ratio of 1:500, which analysts believe is perhaps the worse in the history of global airline industry. Sanusi said government’s intervention in Aero was to save it from total collapse. Therefore, all steps, such as issuance of redundancy letters to ensure its survival, must be put into consideration to save the airline.

He said: “This decision will immediately reduce the whooping operational cost, which has been stifling Aero; enable the management bring in more aircraft through savings from overheads and pay for C-checks. “It will also enable Aero have a more manageable and committed workforce in line with international best practices of 50 to 60 personnel to one aircraft unlike what obtains in Aero at the moment.”

The airline chief, however, added that those in Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and other essential staff in critical departments would not be affected by the notification. Sanusi added that the management team has also ensured that the affected workers will be able to access their full gratuity as well as a part of their pension just to immediately cushion the effect of the development.

“They also stand a chance of being recalled as soon as Aero increases the number of aircraft in its fleet in the near future. Before taking this critical, but necessary business decision, the management of Aero consistently explained the inevitability of redundancy notification to both the workers and the unions because there was no way Aero could carry on with its over-bloated personnel and huge overhead cost.”

The redundancy letter, which was made available to the media, reads in parts: “…Following the operational challenges of Aero culminating in loss of business opportunities that adversely affected company finances vis-à-vis operations, we are constrained to place you under redundancy pending a possible future review.

“This decision was com-municated to the unions where their understanding was solicited in view of prevailing operational difficulties …whilst Aero appreciates your contribution to the company and continues to regard you as worthy ambassadors, we solicit your understanding as we struggle to stabilise operations and rebuild the company…”

Aero Contractors also assured its esteemed customers, that “this exercise will, in no way, affect operations, rather it will enhance safety, reliability and efficiency.”

However, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) have kicked against the move by the airline. President of ATSSSAN, Ahmadu Ilitrus, has advised workers not to collect any letter from the management of Aero. Ilitrus said he was not aware of the purported redundancy notice to workers and plans to sack workers. According to the ATSSSAN President, “We are not against redundancy, but what we are saying is that before you sack them, there must be money to pay them and I know Aero does not have the money to pay them.

“They went ahead to hold meetings with our branch members, but we have told them that the matter has gone beyond the branch.” Mr. Frances Akinjole, General Secretary, ATSSSAN, said that a notification had been sent by the unions to the affected workers not to accept the “purported letter of redundancy.”

“We are totally against it because, in the first place, our members are still being owed salaries and we have not even negotiated the redundancy package. “If they go ahead with this move, then the unions are prepared to face them headlong,” he said.