Domestic cargo agents in Nigeria have said the sector in the aviation industry lost approximately N7b to the less than the two-day nationwide industrial action by both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Domestic Airports Cargo Agents Association, Mr. Ikpe Nkanang said that, with approximately 30 tonnes of cargo lifted across the country’s domestic airports daily, the volume of cargo left unprocessed during the two-day strike was significant, resulting in a loss of about 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”.
The NLC and TUC withdrew their services across the country for less than 48 hours in protest of an increased minimum wage.
The workers embarked on a nationwide strike last Monday, which was suspended the next day. This was due to the tripartite committee’s failure to agree on an acceptable new minimum wage for workers.
The unions also protested against the hike in electricity tariffs, arguing that it placed an undue burden on workers and consumers across the country.
Workers closed down ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal, state, and local governments, as well as public facilities such as airports and seaports, in compliance with the strike.
In the aviation sector, domestic commercial airlines were unable to provide any services, including passenger and cargo operations, as airports were shut down from Monday till mid-Tuesday.
