Air travel across Nigeria is set to face massive disruptions as aviation workers have announced the commencement of an indefinite strike from midnight on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 over the working conditions of NIMET workers.
The industrial action was announced by three major aviation unions: the National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical, and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
The aviation unions said the strike is set to commence after the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) allegedly failed to listen to their demands.
The unions accused the agency of allegedly failing to keep to its bargaining agreement reached on January 28, 2025.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIMET, aviation unions accused NIMET’s management of squandering their goodwill and reneging on promises made in an agreement signed on January 28.
The letter sighted by Pan-Atlantic Kompass, was jointly signed by Ochema Aba, general secretary of the NUATE, Abdul Rasaq Saidu, secretary-general of the ANAP, and Sikiru Waheed, general secretary of the AUPCTRE.
In the letter addressed to its members, the union stated: “As you are all aware, our unions have started strenuously over the past few years to alleviate the exceedingly unjust remunerations conundrum that has visited extreme poverty and consequent untold hardship on NIMET workers. These efforts have been largely without substantial results.
“You are equally aware that the agreement between the management and our unions since 28th January 2025 towards partial amelioration of the above-stated condition has been honoured largely only in the breach.
“In light of the management’s inability to address our given concerns and being that we can no longer continue to cope with present hardship (given the huge disparity in remuneration with our peers) and especially as the ultimatum given to the management has expired, we have no choice than to resume the suspended strike.
“Accordingly, all staff of NIMet nationwide are hereby directed to withdraw their services from the agency indefinitely with effect from midnight of Tuesday, April 22, 2025, without exception until otherwise directed.”
This comes after the unions including NIMET workers in January had given NIMet a 14-day ultimatum to the agency’s management to address their welfare concerns or face a nationwide industrial action.
The letter stressed that all NIMET workers were instructed to withdraw their services starting from 6 a.m. on February 4, 2025, should the issues remain unaddressed.
The unions, in that letter, itemised several unresolved issues, including the suspected withholding of the negotiated conditions of service document, which has reportedly been sent to the ministry but not shared with union signatories.
The unions also raised concerns over the lack of feedback on several key financial entitlements agreed upon, including the 25–35 per cent wage increase, the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, the nine months’ outstanding balance of the 2019 minimum wage, and the inclusion of 30 names that were previously omitted from the 2019 minimum wage payment list.
The unions also accused management of stalling on the “extremely important and urgent issue of salary relativity, which was reinforced by the support of the minister and expressed dissatisfaction with the agency’s prioritisation of executive retreats over training commitments for senior staff. “Instead of continuing with GL10-14, we are unhappy that management is rather scheduling another retreat, even as it has just returned from a post-budget retreat and having had a management retreat late last year.”
