Over 500 Sacked Dana Air Staff Protest In Lagos

Over 500 sacked staff of Dana Air stormed the aviation company’s entrance in the Oshodi area of Lagos State on Tuesday in protest.

The sacked workers accuse the company of sacking them suddenly under unclear circumstances and then refusing to pay their entitlements, including their April salary.

Naija News recalls Dana Air terminated the employment of some employees after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended its operations following the incident in which one of its aircrafts skidded off the runway at the Lagos International Airport.

The airline announced that its decision to lay off staff is temporary until the audit is completed.

However, the affected staff on Tuesday, during a protest in front of the company, threatened to explore every mechanism to fight their sack, which they described as “an injustice.”

Armed with placards with inscriptions such as; ‘Give us our money’, ‘A airline owing its staff can’t be safe’, and ‘Systematic thieving’, among others, the affected workers vowed to ensure the airline pays their entitlements including their contributory pension, April salary among other entitlements.

Speaking with journalists at the protest ground, the Training Manager of the airline, Magdalene Onyeukwu, 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, said the company should at least pay them their entitlements even if the management won’t call them back.

Chidibere further accused Dana of fraudulently deducting staffers’ contributing pensions but refusing to pay the same into their pension accounts.

He said, “We are here to demand our rights, after serving Dana Airlines for several years, they suddenly sacked us all saying that our services are no longer required. But it is on record that Dana airline flew till April before it had an incursion and as I am talking to you, April’s salary has not been paid and my children are at home because I have not been able to pay their fees.

“So many people are in our outstation and couldn’t make it here today because of logistics. If not, this place would have been physically filled by our over 500 staff members because our people are seriously angry.

“Also, if an organisation is sacking its staff, it should pay a one-month salary in lieu because it is also expected that staff should give a one-month notice to the organisation before leaving, but they refused to honour the same rule.

“Dana Airlines has been deducting our money but hasn’t remitted the same to our pension account. This, among others, is our reason for begging Dana to immediately pay us to avert a legal battle.”

Efforts to get the spokesperson for the airlines, Kingsley Ezenwa, to react to the development were not successful as he neither picked up his calls nor responded to a text message of enquiry over the protest.

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