Over 500 staff members of Dana Air staged a protest on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the company’s entrance in Oshodi, Lagos State, Nigeria, decrying mass sacking and non-payment of their April salaries. This protest follows the suspension of Dana Air’s operation license by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) due to a runway skidding incident.
The NCAA’s decision initiated an in-house compliance assessment and a safety audit of Dana Air’s operations. Two weeks after the suspension, the airline laid off its staff, attributing the decision to the ongoing audit. The protesting workers, bearing placards with messages like “Give us our money” and “A airline owing its staff can’t be safe,” claim they were unjustly sacked and have not received their salaries, pensions, or other entitlements.
Training Manager Magdalene Onyeukwu, who had worked with Dana for 15 years, reported receiving her termination notice via WhatsApp. She criticized the airline’s handling of the layoffs, saying, “I have been with Dana since 2008; I was part of those who participated in the demo flight that gave Dana its license; 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.”
Aviation security supervisor Eze Chidibere also voiced concerns about the financial hardships caused by the non-payment of salaries and alleged fraudulent pension deductions. “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,” Chidibere said. He added, “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.”
Onyeukwu also mentioned the deactivation of staff access, including official lines, emphasizing the abrupt nature of their termination. She added, “All our access, including official lines, have been deactivated.”
The staff members threatened to explore every mechanism to fight what they called “an injustice.” “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,” Chidibere stressed.
Efforts to reach Dana Air’s spokesperson, Kingsley Ezenwa, were unsuccessful as he neither picked up his calls nor responded to a text message of inquiry over the protest. The protesting staff vowed to continue their actions until their demands for unpaid salaries and pensions are met.
