BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
Fresh efforts to sustain industrial peace in Nigeria’s aviation sector gathered momentum as the management of Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (Nahco) and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) agreed to a renewed commitment to dialogue, staff welfare and operational stability.
The shift came to the fore during a courtesy visit by ATSSSAN’s National Executive to Nahco, where both sides emphasised collaboration over confrontation as the pathway to uninterrupted service delivery in the industry.
President of ATSSSAN, John Ogbe, said the union is deliberately aligning its approach with the realities of business sustainability, noting that its membership—largely senior staff—understands the delicate balance between workers’ demands and corporate survival.
“We want to support businesses. Our stand basically is very collaborative. As senior management staff, we try to understand with management why recruiting our workers first. We understand too that we cannot over-unionised the system thereby killing the business. We look at the numbers,” he said.
Ogbe stressed that the era of adversarial labour relations must give way to constructive engagement, particularly in aviation where service disruptions have ripple effects across the economy.
“We are your social partners so the apprehension that unions always come for disruptions will not suffice with adequate collaborations between the unions and companies in the industry,” he added.
The ATSSSAN leader described workers as central to productivity, insisting that unions should be seen as partners in progress rather than obstacles.
He noted that the union has no intention of undermining operations, especially in a sector where ground handling services are critical to airline performance and passenger experience.
“It is very important for us for businesses to survive in the aviation industry. We understand how your services are very critical to the survival of other service providers. So, we are not ready to disrupt or truncate that process,” Ogbe said.
Despite the conciliatory tone, he raised concerns about the economic strain on workers, pointing to rising inflation and the weakening naira as key pressures eroding real incomes.
He urged management across the industry to prioritise improved wages and welfare packages to cushion the impact.
“When there are issues, we are open to discussions, we also want you to trust our local branches, we trust them to deal with management. They are not here to truncate or disrupt businesses,” he said.
Ogbe also acknowledged Nahco’s strides in staff welfare and operational investment, commending the company for setting a standard in the sector.
“It is very important, when you have efficient work tools, it reduces pressures on the workers and the investment in this is something that we commend Nahco on and as we say we are open to partnership,” he noted.
He further underscored the importance of continuous training, describing it as essential to workforce competitiveness and retention.
“The union is not averse to training; there is no end to training so you must continue to train your workers. We encourage you to continue training and when you pay them well, they will not want to go anywhere. We commend the security and continuity of job here in Nahco.”
In response, Group Executive Director, Corporate Services at Nahco, Peter Olusola Obabori, reaffirmed management’s commitment to staff welfare, revealing that a formal engagement session with unions had already been scheduled.
He said the meeting would provide an avenue to address concerns around remuneration and working conditions, reflecting the company’s openness to dialogue.
“We know that the major concern for the unions is to make sure staff wages are fair. Serious work done, fair wages to go with it. And the benefits that staff will get,” Obabori said.
He maintained that Nahco has consistently positioned itself as a fair employer, balancing competitive compensation with a supportive work environment.
“If you look at Nahco you will see that Nahco is a fair organisation in terms of wages and treatments of staff, and in terms of other benefits that surround the working environment we are also very fair. And we are pushing for more,” he added.
Obabori highlighted a range of incentive structures designed to reward productivity and align employee interests with corporate performance, including bonuses, profit-sharing and equity participation.
“We have various incentive that are performance-based bonuses, profits, shares for staff, these are major chunk of cash to goes into the accounts of the staff. Though all these don’t come at once as salary, some of them come at certain circle of the year. We put various palliative measures in place at any point in time we notice a change in the country’s economy just to ensure our staff are not adversely affected,” he said.
He noted that the company is also proactively assessing global economic trends to shield its workforce from adverse shocks.
“We are already also looking at the current global economic turmoil to ensure that its impact does not affect our staff too much.”
On operational efficiency and safety, Obabori disclosed that Nahco has invested more than $20 million in modern equipment, a move he said has improved working conditions and boosted financial performance.
“Issues of safety and working condition of staff are very dear to our hearts. We have also acquired equipment with over 20 million dollars to ensure our staff have the right equipment to work. That has brought about a growth in revenue and profit for the company,” he said.
He added that the company’s commitment to training has enhanced the global mobility of its workforce, with several employees securing opportunities abroad.
According to him, about 20 staff members have recently moved to Qatar Airways in Doha, a development he attributed to the high standards of training within Nahco.
Obabori also urged employees to leverage the company’s share ownership scheme, describing it as a strategic avenue for wealth creation.
“Company’s share which sold for N4 four years ago has jumped to N170 in today’s value. There are opportunities within the company to be rich if you open your eyes well and do the right investment, please don’t miss that opportunity. Please even as it is now start investing in your company, you cannot lose money,” he said.
The renewed engagement between labour and management at Nahco reflects a broader push within Nigeria’s aviation industry to prioritise stability, strengthen worker confidence and sustain growth amid economic uncertainty.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
