Dana Air Staff Protest Mass Sacking, Non-payment of Salaries

Over 500 staff members of Dana Air have blocked the entrance of the aviation company in the Oshodi area of Lagos State, protesting against their sack and the refusal of the company to pay their April salary.

Last month, the airline was involved in a runway skidding incident that made the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to withdraw its operation licence.

The regulator added that it would ensure a safety audit that will entail a re-inspection of the organisation, procedures, personnel, and aircraft as specified by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, while the economic audit will critically examine the financial health of the airline to guarantee its capability to sustain safe flight operations.

Two weeks after the suspension of Dana Air operations, the aviation company laid off its staff based on claims that their disengagement was in respect of the ongoing audit, by the aviation regulators.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the staff, during a protest in front of the company, said described the sack as an act of injustice and threatened to fight back.

The staff members were armed with placards with inscriptions such as; ‘Give us our money’, ‘A airline owing it staff can’t be safe’, and ‘Systematic thieving’, among others.

Speaking with journalists at the protest ground, the Training Manager of the airline, Magdalene Onyeukwu, noted that the staff members will not relent until the management pays all that is owed.

Onyeukwe, who claimed to have worked with Dana for 15 years, stated that she got her sack letter through a WhatsApp message.
She added that all their access, including official lines, have been deactivated.

She said, “I have been with Dana since 2008; I was part of those who participated in the demo flight that gave Dana its licence; even when there were challenges when salaries were not paid, we remained committed until this issue of runway incursions, which is normal.

“But before we knew it, they started sending us WhatsApp messages saying our services are no longer needed. Who does that? What about our gratuity, pension and even our April salary? This is not possible after 15 years of service.

Also speaking at the protest ground, an Aviation security supervisor, Eze Chidibere, also complained about the refusal of the company to pay its sacked staff, stressing that this development has started affecting the well-being of staff families, appealing to the management of Dana to urgently pay what is due “even if they won’t be reabsorbed.”

Efforts to get to Dana Airlines spokesperson, Kingsley Ezenwa, was abortive as at press time.