October 10, (THEWILL) – Fifteen former workers of the Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) have died due to the inability of either the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) or Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) to pay them.
The deaths come 11 years after SAHCOL was privatised and re-christened Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO).
The former workers claim that no fewer than 15 of the 982 ex-workers have died with many left incapacitated, as the back and forth continues despite letters from the Ministry of Aviation and House of Representatives to both the BPE and SAHCO management over resolution of the matter.
Comrade Ochai Adamu, who spoke on behalf of SAHCOL retirees at the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) office in THE Lagos Airport, alleged a lot of collusion on the part of the union within SAHCO, claiming they are not helping the course of the retirees.
The former workers had placards that read “BPE& SAHCOL pay us our benefits!” “7Days Ultimatum for payment of our benefits!
According to Adamu, when the computation of the amount accruable to the workers was done, it was N3.5 billion. This was later reduced to N1.8 billion at the insistence of the BPE, but no worker has been paid anything almost 12 years after the privatisation of the company.
“The issue is who will pay this money? SAHCO MD said it is BPE that will pay the money , they said we did not work for SAHCO but for government, the first money was paid in 2013 was called ex-gratia but it was a peanut, our lawyers took up the matter in 2013 but majority of our people have died, more than 15 people, some are incapacitated.
“When the company was privatised, we were even told that staff will not lose their jobs but when it was completed over 1000 staff have lost their employment since privatisation inception.”
“There was an understanding that both SAHCO and BPE will work out the payment modalities but nothing has been done since then. They only keep our case in view for more than 11 years.
“The issue got to the court but we settled out of court and now at Industrial court but the court is frustrating the matter as the presiding Judge gets transferred few days to the judgment day, this has been been the case and we are tired of waiting on Industrial court though the case is coming up again in November. We want the BPE to intervene now” , the workers said.
THEWILL gathered that the matter is in the Industrial Court and due for hearing November 25, 2021. However, the former workers expressed frustration with the court process, which started in 2014. They said the judges presiding over the matter have been transferred thrice, making them believe all is being done to hamper the process.
THEWILL also learnt that negotiations took place between the unions representing SAHCOL workers, management and the BPE.
It was alleged that BPE accepted full responsibility to pay all outstanding indebtedness of the workers and handed over the privatised entity to the new owner.
Later, the BPE was said to have reneged while the delay in payment continued.
Meanwhile, SAHCO has refuted claims that it is in crisis after a revolution by former SAHCOL employees.
In a meeting attended by the director-general of the BPE and the SAHCO chairman, the ground handler said that the BPE has resolved that the benefits are to be paid by the government, through the BPE.
In an official statement issued over the weekend and signed by the manager, Corporate Communications, SAHCO, Mrs Adetola Vanessa Uansohia, the company stated that after the meeting, the BPE DG promised to meet with the Union for further negotiations.
“It should be noted that SAHCO was officially listed as a PLC in 2018, and while BPE was handing over SAHCO to the Stock Exchange, these benefits were not part of the liabilities handed over.Hence, SAHCO is not responsible for the payment,” the statement read.
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