No resumption in sight as Azman Air sends workers on compulsory leave without pay

After weeks of uncertainty over its domestic operations, Azman Air, one of Nigeria’s indigenous carriers, finally suspended its operations indefinitely citing shortage of aircraft, while at the same time sending its staff on leave without pay. Many of the staff said they had long been on leave before the announcement. This is not the best […]

After weeks of uncertainty over its domestic operations, Azman Air, one of Nigeria’s indigenous carriers, finally suspended its operations indefinitely citing shortage of aircraft, while at the same time sending its staff on leave without pay. Many of the staff said they had long been on leave before the announcement.

This is not the best of times for the domestic airline industry in Nigeria as it is grappling with multifarious challenges bothering on foreign exchange (forex) scarcity, multiple taxation, high price of Jet A1, among others, which have stymied the capacity of the airlines to operate optimally and provide the requisite connectivity across the country.

There are no fewer than 10 airlines operating within the domestic terrain, with more airlines coming up. But despite the entry of more airlines, connectivity remains an issue within the domestic space.

The situation recently got worse following the indefinite suspension of operation by Azman Air. The airline in a memo signed by its Human Resource Manager, Magaji Misau, announced stoppage of operation indefinitely while furloughing its workers.

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In the memo titled: “Placement of Leave Without Pay”, the airline asked all its staff to proceed on leave with an exception of an under-listed eight names.

The memo reads in part: “As you are aware, our domestic operations have been put on hold for a while due to the conveyance of our aircraft for C-checks, and the MRO has given a longer time of completion.

“In view of the above, the management directed to write and communicate its decision that all staff have been placed on leave without pay with effect from August 1, 2023.

“Finally, you should be rest assured that you will be recalled to duty as soon as everything is put in place.”

The memo listed those exempted from the leave as Engr Nuraddeen Aliyu, Engr Zakaria Al-Najjar, Engr Peter Abraham, Engr Aliyu Suleiman Gambo, Engr Thomas Folorunso, Usman Muhammad Sabo, Sabiu Sabo and Magaji Mohammed Misau.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the development in Azman Air is a re-enactment of the 2020 era when the airline industry shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and similarly placed its staff on leave without pay; a development which the industry’s unions kicked against.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that prior to the announcement of the suspension of flights, many of the staff said they were being owed months of salary.

One of the affected staff said, “We had been on suspension long before the announcement, and we have not been paid for a long time. I am aware one of the aircraft is undergoing maintenance in Turkey, and the airline has been talking about the arrival of the aircraft for a while, but we can’t really say when the aircraft will arrive.

“Don’t forget, recently the airline said operations would resume in two weeks, but nothing of such happened.”

Our correspondent reports that throughout the Hajj airlift the airline was only operating with its A320 wide-bodied aircraft, while the domestic operations were suspended. Its exit created a big vacuum in the industry, especially in the Northern part of the country, where it has a massive presence.

For instance, Azman Airline was the only domestic carrier operating to Kaduna in the North West, the acclaimed political capital of Northern Nigeria. But since the airline suspended its operations, the Kaduna Airport, one of the busiest airports in the North, remained dormant despite the over N2bn investment by the federal government during the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The implication of the current situation is that air connectivity in Northern Nigeria has been badly impaired while workers are in a state of despair having been furloughed by the airline without hope of early resolution of the crisis facing the airline.

It was gathered that apart from one of the aircraft sent for maintenance in Turkey, which is being delayed due to paucity of forex, another aircraft belonging to the airline, which is already due for maintenance, is lying fallow in Kano.

A staff of the airline said, “As I am talking to you, all the four aircraft in the airline’s fleet are out of service and we cannot say when they will be returned to service. Presently, they are owing us. We were not even paid a dime before we were asked to go on compulsory leave.”

Daily Trust Saturday further reports that the airline has been facing a series of challenges in the last two years.

Last year, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended its operations over a N1.2bn debt arising from non-remittance of Ticket Sales Charges and Cargo Sales Charges (TSC/CSC).

The airline later signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NCAA before its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) was restored and it was allowed to continue to operate.

The Director General of NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu, said, “The airline owed us N1.2bn as TSC/CSC. We invited them, set up a committee for that purpose. Azman said they would pay the sum of N10m monthly out of the debt; which we refused. They later came up to N20m, but we insist on N50m monthly. If we had agreed to the N10m monthly, it would take them about 12 years to repay the money…and by then the money would have been lost.”

It was gathered that since then Azman’s operations have not been stable, and feelers from NCAA indicate that the airline has not fulfilled the repayment agreement reached last year, while not operating for the most part of 2023 before the current suspension of its domestic flights amid mounting challenges over forex scarcity.

It was further learnt that the airline’s founder, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yinusa Sarina, reportedly hinted to the NCAA of his decision to quit domestic operations as the challenges had become intractable as the forex crisis got worse on a daily basis.

With the suspension of its operations, Azman’s workers: pilots, engineers, support staff, ticketing officers, station managers, among others, have been rendered stranded.

Meanwhile, Daily Trust Saturday gathered that the workers do not belong to any union in the aviation industry, which makes it difficult for any of them to stand up for them.

When contacted, the General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Ocheme Abba, said the action of the Azman management was against labour practice.

Abba said, “We intend to write to them latest by Monday to reverse that position and follow the normal procedure of doing such.

“You cannot just wake up and say people should go on leave because you don’t have aircraft. It is against the law.  You can’t unilaterally decide that.”

He noted that while the union appreciated the enormity of the challenges confronting airlines, taking such a decision was too arbitrary, saying labour stipulated that employers had a responsibility to provide work, and that if they failed to provide work, they had to still pay.

A former General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, said, “Permit me to say that it is an aberration for an employer to lay off its entire employees without paying them outstanding salaries and allowances. An airline such as Azman should not have been caught in this web of anti-labour practices to the extent of sending workers away from their workplace without adequate and necessary compensation if the workers have existing and functional Conditions of Service and a responsive and responsible Human Resources Department.

“This scenario has been established in available books on steps to take whenever employers are faced with difficulties and whatever steps need to be taken clearly spelt out according to extant rules. May I also add here that if the workers are not members of a registered trade union, they have shot themselves on the foot, and this is one of our fundamental responsibilities to ensure that workers align and sign up with existing trade unions within their area of jurisdiction so that the unions can promote and protect their interests while also protecting the employer.

“However, since this is a temporary setback, one would appeal that, as whoever goes to equity must go with clean hands, Azman’s management must find a way to furnish its employees their salaries and allowances as quickly as possible and by whatever means available. As the maxim says, a hungry and frustrated worker is an accident waiting to happen. God forbid we allow disgruntled workers to take over the industry.”

A spokesperson with the airline, Mall. Nura Aliyu in a chat with our correspondent said the management of the airline is making frantic efforts to return to service latest November.

He said it was not true that the owner of the airline is not interested in the business again.

On the staff that were furloughed, he assured that they would be recalled as soon as the airline resumes operations.

He also stated that it was not true that the workers are being owed months of salaries.

He said, “The workers would be called back. To be sincere, what we are owing them is not much. You know we were doing skeletal services before and there was no month that we didn’t pay the workers salaries.”