Alhaji Asuma Banda
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct domestic airline, Antrak Air, Alhaji Banda has been subpoenaed by the National Labour Commission (NLC) over allegations that the company has failed to pay the salaries and transport allowances of its former staff.
“You are commanded to appear before the National Labour Commission, Ridge on Wednesday, 24th May, 2017 at 1:00pm fixed for the hearing of the petition of “redundancy” lodged against you, notice of which is hereby given you and from day thereafter as may be needed until the end of the hearing to give evidence on behalf of the complainant or respondent,” the letter dated May 9, this year and signed by the Executive Secretary of NLC, Charles A. Bawaduah, indicated.
It would be recalled that aggrieved staff of domestic airline Antrak Air accused the company of failing to pay their transport allowances and salaries.
Stephen Adzimah, Flight Dispatch and Operations Officer; Samuel Anator, Senior Driver; Anita Nugloze, Ticketing Agent and 47 other aggrieved workers of the company, accused management of the now defunct airline of treating them unfairly with regards to the payment of their allowances and salaries.
According to them, they have not been paid their transport allowances pegged at GH?2,700 per staff by the airline since December 2013.
Since June 2015 when Antrak Air suspended its operations for three months, we have not been paid our monthly salaries, they indicated.
Antrak Air, in June 2015, suspended its operations for three months due to challenges with its wet lease arrangement with Swift Air, a Spanish airliner, over the use of two ATR 72-500 turbo prop aircraft.
The workers told BUSINESS GUIDE that the company assured them on several occasions that it would resume operations and pay their allowances and salaries.
The workers, who hired the services of a lawyer at S.K. Boafo & Company, a law firm said, “We decided to take legal action against the company after we realized that the company was not in the position to resume operations and pay our allowances and salaries.
“Our clients informed us of the suspension of the operations of airline for a three-month period,” a letter addressed to management of Antrak Air by Lawyer David Boafo on behalf of the aggrieved workers stated.
Before the said letter was written to the company, we visited Alhaji Asoma Banda, the Chairman of the Board of Antrak Group Ltd on 5th April 2016 to amicably settle the matter, they added.
During the meeting, Mr. Asoma Banda assured them that the airline would resume operations within three months from the date of the visit.
However, the company has failed to resume operations and pay their allowances and salaries, compelling them to report the matter to NLC.
The Commission wrote to management of the company on three occasions to invite it to a meeting with the workers in order to resolve the issues.
But management of Antrak Air reportedly refused to honour the invitation of NLC.
In the letter, NLC said emphatically “Please note that Mr. Fadel Banda, the Managing Director of Antrak Air, must be present in person at the hearing.”
By Melvin Tarlue