The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has revealed the alleged plans by foreign airlines to sack about two thousand (2,000) Nigerian workers.
NUATE claimed that the rationale behind this is their inability to transfer their earnings to their respective home countries to meet operational costs in accordance with international rules because of the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), policy on forex and fund transfer.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, the Acting General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, said the news has jolted the affected workers.
He further called on the Federal Government to wade in and prevent the huge job loss.
He said: “ The reason being adduced for this danger is that their earnings in the past year is under lock with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN , as they are unable to transfer these earnings to their respective home countries to meet operational costs in accordance with international rules.”
“Following concerns raised recently by leaders of these workers and other stakeholders and in appreciation of the good intent of the government’s fiscal policy, we humbly make this clarion call for your (Minister) intervention to grant foreign airlines concession to repatriate their proceeds to their home countries.”
He added that should the foreign airlines go ahead with the sacking of the workers it would not be in the interest of the aviation sector and Nigeria as a whole.
“We hasten to place on the front burner an emerging threat confronting over 2, 000 private sector aviation workers in Nigeria which requires your intervention to forestall imminent loss of jobs of these number of workers,” said Abioye.