The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, on Monday, said a gentleman’s agreement was reached between the congress, the Trade Union of Nigeria Congress (TUC), and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on denying air services to Imo State in furtherance of its industrial action.
The Organised Labour had declared a strike in the southeastern state following last Monday’s attack at the NLC secretariat where workers were holding an event in commemoration of May Day.
Ajaero, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, alleged that despite securing the representation of key security agencies ahead of the event, all the security agents were suddenly withdrawn in the middle of their event.
He argued that the workers’ strike in Imo pertained to how the state Government treats its workers, the violent attacks on the workers, the destruction of Imo State properties, and wounded workers that had not been treated.
According to him, when NLC and TUC declared the industrial action, the workers had to picket the airlines in particular to suspend services to Imo State. He described the protest as peaceful.
“If you ask whosoever is the security detail that is at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, there was a gentleman’s agreement that flights are not going into Imo State with Air Peace,” he said.
“Air Peace started loading; they said they were loading for Port Harcourt and they were landing in Owerri. The signal got across to the people in Lagos that ‘Air Peace is landing in Owerri’ because the workers there are vigilant and on the ground and they went to the Air Peace desk and there was a fracas.”
Ajaero stated that the incident culminated in the state NLC chairman receiving bruises and their glasses destroyed.
“About two or three other women were wounded and rushed to the hospital,” he added.
The “fracas”, according to him, led to a disruption of about two hours before the chief security officer of the airport intervened “who said, ‘Look, this is a gentleman’s agreement; Air Peace is not going to violate it again’.”
He said operations resumed, “only for the Air Peace owner or chairman to go on air to say that ‘his fellow Igbo man….’”
Ajaero however argued that the NLC is not organised around tribal or primordial sentiments.
“When we asked even the chief security officer of the airport, who came there on time to maintain peace and even pleaded that all the people that were wounded should not go online and we left, we explained that ‘this is a straightforward action and we want an agreement with Air Peace’ and he said ‘no, Air Peace will respect a gentleman’s agreement,’” he said.
The NLC president noted that there had been prior “issues” contentions with Air Peace over its alleged refusal to unionise since 2016.
“But if it was a really unionised sector, there would have been a communication between the workers of NLC and the aviation industry and this matter wouldn’t have happened the way it happened,” Ajaero said.
“So, we’re taking it up from there on Air Peace and unionisation because they can’t live in the land and decide not to obey the laws.”
Asked if there is any justification for the infringement on the liberties of innocent passengers going about their business in Imo State, the NLC president argued that inconvenience was an inevitability in seeking justice for workers in the state.
“If we’re picketing, it has to inconvenience people and our target is Imo State. We have not looked at any other state,” he said.
“We have not disrupted their activities and as far as Imo State is concerned, whether tanks are loading fuel to Imo State; whether airlines; if there is train, whether train going to Imo State, all the areas that workers are involved, we have to equally withdraw services in those areas.”
