Disengaged staff members of Dana Airline, on Tuesday, picketed the company’s headquarters over non-payment of their two months’ salaries and non-remittance of their contributory pensions.
NATIONAL ECONOMY reports that the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, had directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to suspend the airline over runway excursion at the Murtala Muhammed Airport(MMA), Lagos.
Due to this, the airline disengaged some of its staff members till the end of the operational audit.
The head, corporate communication, of the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa, said the decision was to ensure efficient management of resources and to facilitate a thorough review of operational procedures.
However, the staff had requested the suspended airline to pay their two months’ salaries and contributory pensions.
The former employees, who blocked the entrance of the company at Oshodi-Isolo expressway, claim that they received a “no service required” letter via WhatsApp without any further communication on how and when their salaries and benefits would be paid.
The ex-staff members alleged that their contributory pensions, which were deducted from their salaries over the past 10 years, have never been remitted.
The placard carrying staff with different inscriptions, claimed that the management deducted a certain amount from their salaries each month as contributory pensions.
“We had an excursion in April and we had already wrapped up and so, we are supposed to be paid and we are not paid. We are only here because we need our money, April salary, our one month in lieu of notice then our entitlements and for something who has worked for 15 years, I need to be settled,” one of the protesters said.
One of the former employees, Mrs. Magdalene Onyukwu, spoke about their plight, urging the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, and the acting director-general of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, to intervene and provide justice.
“We are disgruntled staff and we are asking, if you are asking me to go, it means you are ready to pay me my benefits, they have to pay us our benefits, our gratuity, our pension, all they have collected over the years, put these together and give it to us,”she said.
The staff are calling on the authorities to take immediate action to resolve their outstanding salaries and pension contributions, which they claim have been unfairly delayed.
