Domestic cargo agents in Nigeria reported that the aviation industry lost around N7 billion as a result of the less than two-day nationwide strike action by both the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Domestic Airports Cargo Agents Association, Ikpe Nkanang on Friday, according to The Punch.
Nkanang stated that with roughly 30 tonnes of cargo lifted across the country’s domestic airports each day, the volume of cargo left unprocessed during the two-day strike was enormous, resulting in a loss of approximately N7 billion.
He said, “For those two days, the airlines were not working, and once the airlines are not working, cargo cannot move and it is a great loss to all of us.
“You needed to see the volume of cargo that was dumped over those two days; of course, you know we gathered cargoes during the weekend hoping that by Monday and Tuesday, we would be able to send them out.
“It was a colossal loss to us in the cargo world, it affected our income and, of course, the economy of the country. For those few hours of the strike, the country lost about N7 billion across all local airports.”
Organized Labour embarked on industrial action on Monday to demand an acceptable minimum wage pay rise and the reversal of the hike in the price of tariff for Band-A customers.
However, the strike was called off, less than 48 hours later, to give room for the conclusion of negotiation with the federal government.
Following the strike, most ministries, departments, and agencies were shut down.
Domestic commercial airlines were unable to conduct any services, including passenger and cargo operations, due to airport closures from Monday to mid-Tuesday.
