Lufthansa German Airlines has refuted allegations of racism and disregard for workers’ unionism levelled against it by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE).
NUATE has declared an industrial dispute with Lufthansa and almost disrupted flight operations as it had earlier threatened over the disengagement of two members of staff from the services of Lufthansa.
In a statement made available to THISDAY weekend, the airline debunked NUATE’s allegation that the two staff had their appointments terminated because of their trade union activities.
Describing the union’s claim as “totally false as Lufthansa had no on-going dispute with the staff union to warrant such action, the airline added that “allegations of racism and disregard for workers’ unionism are also absolutely false”.
The statement noted that Lufthansa as a responsible international employer of labour which has respect for each country’s labour laws “the two officers in question were relieved of their jobs because their services were no longer required.”
“Lufthansa regards NUATE’s attempt to disrupt our services as unfortunate. Our staff are well trained and well motivated for their work and they remain one of Lufthansa’s greatest assets.
“Lufthansa’s basic philosophy for the workplace is “Employees for Excellence and Excellence for Employees” and this shows the importance we attach to our workforce across the globe. Lufthansa passengers are hereby assured that measures have been put in place to ensure their safety and the smooth operation of our services”, the statement affirmed.
On the alleged trade dispute declared against the union, the airline maintained that it was unaware of such an action, adding that : “As far as we are concerned, no dispute has been declared in line with the industrial laws of Nigeria.”
“We were invited to the Federal Ministry of Labour two months ago in respect of a complaint by two employees whose appointments were terminated as a result of internal re-organisation and re-engineering of our processes.
Lufthansa German Airlines like most multinational companies are constantly in the process of fine-tuning their organisational structures in response to market and competitive realities. The Federal Ministry of Labour had at that time, directed both parties, the union and management, to resolve the issues through negotiations”, the statement noted, adding that the process is still on-going.
Source: Thisday