From Emmanuel Iyoho
ABUJA
Aviation workers have suspended their planned industrial action following an agreement reached with the Federal Government.
The strike was planned to commence Tuesday, but the workers made a u-turn on their plan after a Memorandum of Settlement reached by the workers and the Federal Ministry of Aviation in the early hours of Tuesday.
Both parties signed the agreement at the end of the meeting which was held at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Labourand Employment.
The meeting which was presided over by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, discussed the non-implementation of the Minimum Wage consequential adjustment in the aviation parastatals since 2019 and the non-approval and release of the reviewed conditions of service in the parastatals.
Briefing newsmen on the agreements reached, Ngige said, “The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission was requested to issue a service-wide circular informing all organisations in the public and private sectors that they are bound to implement the National Minimum Wage of 2019 and consequential adjustments.
“The Ministry of Aviation is to circulate the circular on the consequential minimum wage adjustment to all the agencies under the supervision of the ministry, requesting them to implement the National Minimum Wage consequential adjustment without any further delay and also clarify that this payment became effective from April 18, 2019, when the Minimum Wage was signed into law.”
The minister said the parties also agreed that those that had exited the system during the period from April 18, 2019, to date would also be paid the arrears.
He said the meeting concluded that all the agencies that had not paid the minimum wage allowances should write to the NSIWC through the Ministry of Aviation for consideration and evaluation.
A statement by the labour ministry spokesman, Mr Charles Akpan, said the meeting agreed that by the end of the first quarter of 2022, the aviation ministry should ensure the approval, release and implementation of the renewed conditions of service (CoS) for all the workers in the agencies under the ministry.
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