Pay Gap: Pilots, Engineers Of Bristow Helicopters Threaten Strike Action

All personnel of Bristow Helicopters have been urged to partake in a planned strike action slated for 3 August 2020 by the National Association of Aircrafts Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).

The strike action comes after some agreements between the staff and the company fell through.

In a letter issued to members of staff, signed by the Deputy National Secretary of the association, Umoh Ofonime, members have been urged to embark on a strike action, as there have been discrepancies in the payments of national pilots and expatriates.

The letter states, “Insistence on benchmarking salaries of national pilots and engineers to an obsolete rate of N345/$1 coupled with their recent insistence on their proposal to implement N355/$1- a rate which is not obtainable on any legal foreign exchange window in the world while still paying expatriates their full remuneration in USD.

“Failure to train qualified persons for ATPL and failure to fully reimburse individuals who have successfully completed their ATPL through self-sponsorship – a deviation from the agreement in place at the time and disproportionate matching and capped reimbursement cash figure for self-sponsored pilots on ATPL with an employment bond of N30m – an obvious unethical and sharp practice.

“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.

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“Anomalous implementation of engineers’ matrix/chart/progression and refusal to adjust national engineers’ progression in tandem with expatriate nationals and global aviation standards and the norm of jettisoning negotiated agreements as in the case of systemic dissolution of engineering work shift in Eket operation.”

The association has urged all its members to desist from providing their services until the needs of the staff are attended to.