Apprehension grips aviation, transport workers over merger of ministries

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Aviation and transport workers have reacted to the merger of the Federal Ministry of Aviation with that of Transport with anxiety.

The Chairman of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN), Comrade Benjamin Okewu told stakeholders at a Joint Consultative and Negotiating Council retreat in Abuja, yesterday that the merger would make the administration too cumbersome.

Okewu, therefore, expressed fears that effective service delivery in the aviation industry could suffer due to bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Speaking on the theme: “Managing Industry Challenges in an Emerging Economy: The Aviation Sector in Focus,” Com. Okewu said that in the light of the current developments, there was need to optimise the operations of the two ministries.

Aviation sector, he further argued, was a sector which should not be experimented with because of its global nature.

According to him, “We are all aware the world economy is going through challenges; the aviation industry is not left out so we are trying to see how we can exist with management even with this economic crunch.”

“Government should rather invest in modern equipment and put in technically sound personnel in both agencies and also strengthen the regulations to make the more effective.”

He however believed that the only constant thing was change.

“When there are changes the union leaders are built with the capacity to absorb the change and work in line with the change mantra for the benefit of all members,” he said.

Source: Vanguard