…embarks on indefinite strike Aug 3
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, has concluded arrangements to shut down all operations of Bristow helicopters from midnight Monday 3, 2020.
To this end all pilots and engineers in the employ of the helicopter company have been directed to embark on an indefinite strike over what it calls blatant discriminatory policies and consistent victimization of Nigerian nationals.
The Deputy General Secretary, comrade Umoh Ofonime says, “NAAPE has been actively engaged with the Management of Bristow for some time now in a bid to carry out the renewal exercise of the conditions of service for national pilots and engineers”.
“NAAPE had previously instructed members in the employment of Bristow to embark on a 3 day warning strike at the expiration of which an olive branch was extended to the Bristow Management in the form of a seven day notice period during which the union had held out hopes of an amicable resolution to the items under contention but unfortunately Bristow Management was unable to proffer any solution even after the union graciously extended 7 days notice period at the behest of Bristow Management”, he added.
Presently, all sundry labour matters and Negotiation between both parties are broken down to include; “Management proposal to suspend the Conditions of Service, CoS negotiations and their deliberate subversions of established terms of agreement with NAAPE, insistence on benchmarking salaries of national pilots and engineers to an obsolete rate of N345/$1 coupled with the recent insistence on their proposal to implement N355/$1, a rate which is not obtainable on any legs foreign exchange window in the world while still paying expatiate foreigners their full remuneration in USD.
Others are failure to train qualified persons in Airline Transport Pilot License, ATPL and failure to fully reimburse individuals who have successfully completed their ATPL through self-sponsorship, disproportionate matching and capped reimbursement cash figures for self-sponsored pilots on ATPL with an employment bond of N30 million-An obvious unethical and sharp practice.
Odious laying off of young cadet and trainee engineers after several years of tearful sacrificial toiling on the basis of a promised career in the company and now in extension of the insatiable thirst of nulling our vitality, the company is prepping for a preposterous and unjustifiable redundancy of engineers and pilots hitherto grossly mistreated vis-a-his the company’s non-adherence to expatriate quota law, national content law and Presidential Executive Order No.5Anomalous implementation of Engineers matrix/chart/ progression and refusal to adjust national engineers’ progression in tandem with expatriate nationals and global aviation standards.The norms of jettisoning negotiated agreements as in the case of systemic dissolution of engineering work shift in Eket operations.
Comrade Ofonime states that, NAAPE has consistently engaged Bristow Management for amelioration over there’s issues to no avail.
The indefinite strike NAAPE says will consists of the complete withdrawal of services indefinitely until the issues under contention are fully resolved.
NAAPE warns any detractor to steer away from any acts of sabotage or betrayal and warned expatiates not to engage in any actions which may be viewed as an act of sabotage.
“Such action shall define anyone who acts otherwise as an antagonist of good faith and will be met with the appropriate response. To this effect, NAAPE expects and demands full compliance from all members including Chief Engineers and Chief Pilots.”
“As a result of these blatant discriminatory policies and consistent victimization of Nigerian nationals at the hands of Bristow Management, our members are no longer Mentally Conditioned to Safely deliver their professional obligations under such absurd, discriminatory and excruciating work environment”.
