The Ethiopian Airlines branch of National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE has suspended its planned industrial action, following the intervention of the federal government.
The union had threatened to embark on strike over the refusal of the management of the Airline to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement on the 13th-month salary, the non-promotion of workers, casual/contract staffing, and low remuneration.
A statement by the minister of State for labour and employment, Mohammed Dingyadi and signed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Patience Onuobia, said at the end of a conciliation meeting convened by the Minister, the NUATE and Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU to meet within two weeks to discuss all issues in dispute and revert to the Ministry.
According to the agreement, a team comprising three representatives of the Union, officials of Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Joint Aviation Trade Unions Forum shall attend the meeting.
According to the statement, the agreement also stipulates that the process will be supervised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
It noted that the parties also agreed that there would be no work stoppage before the next meeting.
The MoU was signed by the Ethiopian Airlines’ Area Manager, Nigeria, Firiehiwot Mekonnen; National Vice President, NUATE, Moses Unanaow; Deputy General Secretary, NUATE, Odinaka Igbokwe; representative of the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Abubakar M. Sadiq; and Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations of the Ministry of labour and employment, Amos Falonipe.