ULC, aviation professionals see job loss coming with airports concessioning

President of rival and yet to be registered United Labour Congress (ULC), Joe Ajaero, and members of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), have carried out a joint protest to register their fears of job loss should airports be concessioned.

During the peaceful protest at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, Ajaero expressed displeasure at the proposed concession plan of Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports by the government, saying over 90 per cent of jobs would be lost.

Speaking at the Freedom Square, close to FAAN, Ajaero advised members of fight against the proposed airport concession.

He based his fears on experiences from other enterprises that had been concessioned in the past, saying the previous concession arrangements in the power sector, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), and NITEL were unfruitful and frustrated the lives of workers

However, Ajero presented a way out, insisting that before the exercise could scale through, workers through their unions, should sit down and negotiate their conditions of service.

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He noted that Nigerian workers are always losers during and after every concesssioning and betted the government to show Nigerians any concession that is not only successful, but ended without workers losing out.

According to him, “This is another challenge for the working people of Nigeria.

“A challenge of concessioning, the challenge of privatisation, the challenge of management buy-back or POP, ROT or whatever name as may be proposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“If you have 500 workers now, after concession, only 50 people will remain here. Even those 50 people will be casual appointments,” ULC founder added.