Hundreds of air travelers, on Thursday, were stranded at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri, Imo State, as the strike ordered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo took its toll.
The strike was called by the NLC as a result of the faceoff between the Imo State Government and the workers union, which accused the state government of assaulting some of its members during the May Day rally in Owerri
NLC barred airlines from taking off and landing at the airport after labour instructed workers in the Aviation sector at the airport to down tools, which caught many air travelers unaware.
At the Sam Mbakwe Airport and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, where the labour union had also declared a “No flight to Owerri action,” flights to and from Imo State have been seriously disrupted forcing passengers coming to the state to make alternative arrangements.
It will be recalled that the NLC Secretary General, Emmanuel Ugboaja, had, in a letter, said that labour would embark on a comprehensive industrial action against the state government with effect from Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
The letter read in part: “It was resolved that we embark on a comprehensive industrial action against the State Government beginning from Wednesday the 3rd day of May 2023. Consequently, as part of our effort to enforce compliance, you are kindly requested to work with the TUC and other affiliates especially those in the Aviation sector to ensure that no flight leaves the Lagos airport to Owerri, Imo State, starting from 12 midnight today (Wednesday).
“The government of Imo State has grossly violated the rules of engagement among the social partners in industrial relations in the country by using thugs to violently disrupt this year’s May Day in Imo State, that properties were vandalised and looted by the invading thugs of the government and that some workers sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of that attack.”
To placate the workers, the union, among other demands, wants the state government to sign the agreement reached between it and workers in the month of March 2023.
– Media Report