New Telegraph

Bristow pilots, engineers down tools, reject salary benchmark

From today, all pilots and engineers of Bristow Helicopters will proceed on indefinite strike action over what they described as “discriminatory policies and consistent victimization of Nigerians working for the carrier.”

 

Their umbrella body, the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), has backed their action for a total shutdown of all Bristow Helicopters operations from midnight Monday 3, 2020.

 

They are about to take the action after talks of amicable resolution between the workers and management broke down.

 

Part of the demands is the rejection of benchmarking salaries of indigenous pilots and engineers to an obsolete rate of N345/$1, coupled with the recent insistence on their proposal to implement N355/$1, a rate which they said is not obtainable on any legs of foreign exchange window in the world while still paying expatiate foreigners their full remuneration in United States dollar.

 

Other issues raised are failure of the airline to train qualified persons in Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and failure to fully reimburse individuals who successfully completed their ATPL through self-sponsorship, disproportionate matching and capped reimbursement cash figures for selfsponsored pilots on ATPL with an employment bond of N30 million, which they described as unethical and sharp practice.

 

They are equally not happy with what they termed, “Odious laying off of young cadet and trainee engineers after several years of tearful sacrificial toiling on the basis of a promised career in the company.”

 

The Deputy General Secretary of NAAPE, Umoh Ofonime, said the group had actively engaged with the management of Bristow Helicopters for some time now in a bid to carry out the renewal exercise of the conditions of service for indigenous pilots and engineers.

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