Air Peace makes “verbal agreement” to recall sacked pilots, says Sirika

Nigeria’s Air Peace has made a verbal agreement to recall some pilots it laid off recently due to operational challenges posed by the new normal, Covid-19.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, was said to have invited the management of the airline and leaders of the National Association of Airline Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) to an intervention meeting held in his office in the early hours of Tuesday (August 11, 2020).

Hence, the “verbal agreement” was the outcome of the intervention meeting between the parties, suggesting that Air Peace will recall a larger number of sacked pilots.

A statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, and made available to TW said Chairman of the airline, Chief Allen Onyema “acceded to the Minister’s appeal for the recall of the maximum number of pilots that the airline can accommodate without going under.”

A delegation from the NAAPE, led by Galadima Abednego, appealed to the minister to resolve possible grievances between the management of Air Peace and the affected staff.

He said that as a union it was a painful thing to see a large number of their members thrown into the labour market, and further appealed to employers of labour to see the union members as partners, and not adversaries. 

On his own, the Chairman of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema expressed his sadness and disappointment over what he called the ingratitude of some of the airline’s pilots, after everything is done to make them comfortable on their jobs.

He recalled how Air Peace had trained over 80 pilots and an equal number of aircraft engineers, giving its staff the best remuneration package within the sector only for them to disappoint at a time their understanding was needed. 

He, however, commended Senator Hadi Sirika for providing the required leadership to the industry and promised his full cooperation in ensuring the growth of the aviation sector in Nigeria. 

The Aviation Minister, in his remarks, called for the understanding of everyone, especially the labour unions, on the prevailing situation in the aviation industry, saying it was not the time for unnecessary upheavals. 

He commended Chief Onyema for his enormous contributions in developing the industry but appealed to him to recall the maximum number of the sacked pilots that the airline can comfortably accommodate in the prevailing circumstances to which airline operator agreed.

He called on all stakeholders in the aviation industry to put all hands on deck in ensuring rapid recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.