Following months of unfulfilled demands and what union leaders say are repeated violations of a collective bargaining agreement by the agency’s management, workers at the Nigerian Meteorological Agency are scheduled to go on strike indefinitely beginning Tuesday, April 22, 2025. The Union of Air Transport Employees, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical, and Recreational Services Employees accused NiMet management of not upholding agreements meant to address long-standing compensation issues in a letter exclusively obtained by the PUNCH on Monday.
The statement stated: “As you are all aware, our unions have worked tirelessly over the past few years to resolve the incredibly unfair compensation issue that has caused NiMet workers to live in terrible poverty and endure unspeakable pain as a result. There haven’t been many notable outcomes from these initiatives.
The management’s refusal to carry out a partial deal agreed on January 28, 2025, angered the unions.
They wrote, “You are equally aware that the agreement between our unions and management, which has been in effect since January 28, 2025, to partially ameliorate the aforementioned condition, has been honored largely only in the breach.”
The unions stressed that they had no choice but to prolong the strike, citing the expiration of an earlier ultimatum and the ongoing pay gap with industry peers.
The workers wrote in the letter, “Given the management’s failure to address our grave concerns and the fact that we are unable to continue coping with the current hardships (due to the significant pay gap with our peers), and particularly since the management’s ultimatum has ended, we have no choice but to resume the suspended strike.”
All NiMet staff across the country have been directed “to withdraw all services from the Agency indefinitely with effect from midnight of Tuesday 22nd April 2025 without exception until otherwise directed.”
In addition, all union branches and state councils have been instructed, “to mobilize all aviation workers to offer solidarity support to NiMet workers at all their stations and to ensure full effect of this directive.”
Recall that The PUNCH reported that three major aviation unions had warned the Nigerian Meteorological Agency of an imminent resumption of a suspended strike, accusing the agency of failing to honor a collective bargaining agreement signed on January 28, 2025.
The unions in a letter, expressed frustration over NiMet’s refusal to negotiate or implement agreed financial allowances and raised concerns about several unresolved entitlements, including wage awards, peculiar allowances, and outstanding payments from the 2019 minimum wage.
They also alleged the management withheld important documents, ignored requests for inclusion of omitted staff in past payments, and neglected key training programs in favor of executive retreats.
Describing the situation as “troubling and worrisome,” the unions said NiMet had squandered their goodwill and issued an ultimatum, giving the agency until April 16, 2025, to fulfill the agreement or face an indefinite strike without further notice.
NiMet has yet to issue an official response at the time of filing this report.
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