Arik Air on Friday relieved 300 employees of their appointment, citing effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on its operations as the reason for the decision.
The statement titled, “Arik Air Management Declares 300 Staff Redundant,” explained that a redundancy package would be provided for the affected members with the help of the aviation unions.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees is therefore seeking for negotiation with the management of Arik Air staff following the sack of the 300 workers.
The General Secretary, NUATE, Aba Ocheme said the decision was not a bad one if the relieved workers could walk away with huge packages at the planned negotiation scheduled for Monday.
He said, “I understand that when people hear redundancy, it can sound sad but it is not really a sad development from our point of view. What Arik has done is to declare its intention to do a headcount reduction by 300.”
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According to him, the number of staff affected may be more than 300 at the end of the day. He sees the situation not to be a sad one because instead of workers continuing in the struggle, they may opt for a reasonable pay-off and be happy to leave instead of struggling with every situation at the workplace.
Ocheme added that the union has welcomed that declaration, with intention to get a fair deal for those who are leaving. The workers themselves have embraced that declaration and their only wish is a fair deal, which is expected to be a win-win situation. He further explained that the strike has been suspended in view of a meeting scheduled for Monday.
