CAMPAIGN for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR) has called for support for employees of Lagos-based ServAir Company Ltd as they are set to commence the picketing on Sunday following the unilateral reduction of their salaries and other anti-union postures by management.
CDWR, in a statement by Comrade Chinedu Bosah, its National Publicity Secretary, stated that the management of ServAir had in 2015 unilaterally reduced workers’ salaries without reaching an agreement with workers just as it also unilaterally stopped annual review of salaries in violation of the company’s condition of service.
CDWR also revealed that the management refused to allow the employees to free join the union of their choice in the aviation sector; the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), by insisting that the join the National Union of Hotel and Personal Services Workers (NUHPSW).
According to CDWR, in trying to enforce their choice on employees of ServAir, the management even went ahead to file a suit at the National Industrial Court (NIC), which it said “is a clear violation of the right of workers to join the union of their choice as guaranteed specifically by section 40 of the 1999 Constitution.”
“In the last two years, the management has been victimizing workers through unjustifiable and malicious sacks either as a result of their roles in unionization or because they agitated for better working conditions.
“Management has concluded plans to sack all security workers and replace them with a private security outfit through contract staffing with poorer working conditions.
“Five months ago, the management used the COVID-19 lockdown as an excuse to carry out mass sack; it maliciously declared redundancy after paying fractional salary for some months leading to the sacking of 61 workers including all branch union leaders. This shows clearly that the agenda of the management is to resist unionization and continue to undermine the interest and rights of workers to unionization.”
CDWR said in August 2020, it wrote to the management of ServAir “calling for the reinstatement of all sacked workers and end all forms of victimisation as one of the steps to resolving this matter amicably but the management failed to respond.
“CDWR is appealing for solidarity from all comrades, trade union leaders, trade union activists, sympathisers and friends to join us as we picket this company to stop the management from undermining the rights of Nigerian workers in the company. The picketing will take place on Sunday, October 18, 2020, and Monday, October 19, 2020…This picketing is being led by the Lagos NLC and NUATE while CDWR is giving all the solidarity that is required,” CDWR stated.
