Dana Air staff have blocked the entrance of the aviation company in the Oshodi area of Lagos State in protest of their sacking as well as the refusal of the airlines to pay their April salary.
Last month, Dana aircraft was involved in a runway skid incident that led to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority withdrawing its operating licence, according to The Punch.
NCAA said it had initiated an in-house compliance assessment of the occurrence considering Dana’s track records in related occurrences.
NCAA further stated that to ensure that the airline can maintain safe flight operations, it will carry out a safety audit, which will include a review of the organisation, procedures, personnel, and aircraft as specified in Part 1.3.3.3 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, and an economic audit, which will critically examine the financial health of the airline.
The airline laid off its staff less than two weeks after the suspension of Dana Air’s activities, based on a claim that they had left in connection with an ongoing audit by aviation regulators.
In the meantime, workers threatened to explore every possible means of fighting what they called unjust discrimination during a demonstration in front of the firm on Tuesday.
The staff members were armed with placards with inscriptions such as; ‘Give us our money’, ‘A airline owing its staff can’t be safe’, and ‘Systematic thieving’, among others, stated that aside from being unjustly sacked, the airline has refused to pay workers contributory pension as well as their April salary among other entitlements.
In response, the Training Manager of the airline, Magdalene Onyeukwu, said that the staff members will not back down until the management pays all that is owed.
According to Onyeukwe, she had been working with Dana for 15 years, she had received a letter of dismissal through a text message.
She added that all of their access, including official lines, has been cut off.
She said, “I have been with Dana since 2008; I was part of those who participated in the demo flight that gave Dana its licence; even when there were challenges when salaries were not paid, we remained committed until this issue of runway incursions, which is normal.
“But before we knew it, they started sending us WhatsApp messages saying our services were no longer needed. Who does that? What about our gratuity, pension, and even our April salary? This is not possible after 15 years of service ?”
In his remark, an Aviation security supervisor, Eze Chidibere also complained that the company had refused to pay its fired staff, noting that it was beginning to affect the well-being of their families and urged Dana’s management to make immediate payments on what is due ‘even if they were not reabsorbed back into service.”
Chidibere criticised Dana for fraudulently deducting staffers’ contributing pensions but refusing to pay the same into their pension accounts.
He said, “We are here to demand our rights, after serving Dana Airlines for several years, they suddenly sacked us all saying that our services are no longer required. But it is on record that Dana Airline flew till April before it had an incursion and as I am talking to you, April’s salary has not been paid and my children are at home because I have not been able to pay their fees.
“So many people are in our outstation and couldn’t make it here today because of logistics. If not, this place would have been physically filled by our over 500 staff members because our people are seriously angry.
“Also, if an organisation is sacking its staff, it should pay a one-month salary in lieu because it is also expected that staff should give a one-month notice to the organisation before leaving, but they refused to honour the same rule.
“Dana Airlines has been deducting our money but hasn’t remitted the same to our pension account. This, among others, is our reason for begging Dana to immediately pay us to avert a legal battle.”
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the airlines, Kingsley Ezenwa, proved abortive as he neither picked up his calls nor responded to text messages over the issue.
