AGF FG – Court stops NLC, TUC’s Tomorrow Tuesday strike Strike Will Cause Hardship to Nigerians
Court stops Labour from going on strike
The court ordered Nigeria’s two major labour unions, to stop their industrial action scheduled to commence 14 November.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, on Friday, restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on strike.
Benedict Kanyip, the judge, who is also the president of the court, ordered Nigeria’s two major labour unions, to stop their industrial action scheduled to commence 14 November.
The interim order followed an ex-parte request by the Nigerian government through the office Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, following the Labour unions’ threat to embark on strike after the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, was manhandled in Imo State on 1 November.
Ruling after listening to federal government’s lawyer, T.A Gazali, a Senior Advocate Nigeria, the judge said, “Section 7(1)(b) of the NIC Act 2006 empowers this court to hear matters relating to the grant of any order to restrain any person or body from taking part in any industrial action, or any conduct in contemplation or furtherance of the industrial action. Section 19(a) of same Act then empowers this court to grant urgent interim reliefs.
FIRS
“This Court has over the years interpreted these provisions as authorising this court to grant exparte orders restraining, an industrial action that is threatened, and so yet to commence, as is the present threatened industrial action of 14 November 2023. This being so, the instant exparte application succeeds, and is hereby granted.”
He, therefore, ruled: “An order of interim injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants/respondents, their members, their agents, employees, workmen, servants, proxies or affiliates from embarking on the planned industrial action and or strike of any nature pending the hearing and determination of the claimant/applicant’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”
The labour unions and the government had been at loggerheads over the latter’s removal of fuel subsidy and the attendant difficulties being experienced by workers.
In June, the National Industrial Court, in an interlocutory injunction, stopped the labour unions from embarking on any strike action pending the determination of the substantive suit.
But the latest threat by the labour unions to embark on strike is a fallout of the dispute between them and Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.
Background
The NLC along with the Trade Union Congress (TUC), threatened to embark on a national strike from Tuesday, 14 November, over an attack on Mr Ajaero in Imo State on 1 November
The leadership of the two unions reached the resolution after an extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
In a communique issued after the NEC meeting and signed by Adewale Adeyanju, NLC Deputy President and Festus Osifo of the TUC, the unions said it resolved to order the immediate withdrawal of services and shutdown of Imo State beginning midnight Tuesday.
“All workers and affiliates are expected to ensure compliance from wherever they are. All flights into and out of Imo State, fuel supplies and electricity be stopped immediately as applicable. All Public and Private Sector workers are to immediately down tools indefinitely.
“That if our demands are still unmet, workers all over the federation shall join in withdrawing their services by Midnight Tuesday, the 14th of November, 2023.
“All State Councils of NLC & TUC and affiliates are by this resolution mandated to ensure full compliance with NEC’s decision,” the unions said.
The NLC had earlier called on workers in Imo State to embark on a state-wide strike on 1 November.
While declaring the strike, the president of NLC, Joe Ajaero, said the industrial action was in protest against “the persistent and egregious violations of the rights and privileges of workers in Imo State by the State Government.”
“As a result, we are left with no choice but to embark on mass protests and industrial actions beginning on the 1st day of November 2023,” Mr Ajaero said.
There was an uproar in the state on the day the strike and industrial action began, with some thugs and police officers reportedly attacking Mr Ajaero and other members of the NLC who had assembled at the union’s council secretariat ahead of their planned protest in the state.
The national leadership of the NLC later alleged that Mr Ajaero was arrested by police operatives in the state.
The union also accused the state governor, Mr Uzodinma, of mobilising the thugs and the officers to attack and arrest the NLC president to frustrate the planned protest in the state.
But the police later denied arresting Mr Ajaero, saying they only placed him in protective custody to shield him from attack by the thugs.
On his part, Governor Uzodinma, who is seeking reelection in the upcoming poll in the state, blamed Mr Ajaero for his alleged partisanship in the state.
“What has happened in this ugly coincidence is that the national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress is from Imo state and has not been able to demarcate the difference between being a national leader of an organisation and then an interested party in local politics,” Mr Uzodinma said at the presidential villa on Thursday in Abuja after receiving the flag of his party, the All Progressives Congress, from President Bola Tinubu, as a mark of endorsement for the governor’s reelection bid.”
A labor strike, also known simply as a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. Strikes can be initiated by workers as a form of protest against working conditions, wages, or other labor-related issues. They are a common tactic used by labor unions to negotiate with employers.
During a strike, employees may picket outside the workplace to gain public support, disrupt operations, and put pressure on the employer to meet their demands. Strikes can be localized to a specific company or industry or can occur on a larger scale, affecting an entire sector or even a country.
There are various types of strikes, including:
Economic Strike: Focused on economic issues such as wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Unfair Labor Practice Strike: A response to perceived unfair practices by the employer, often related to violations of labor laws.
Wildcat Strike: Spontaneous and unofficial strikes that are not authorized by the union leadership.
General Strike: Involves workers from different industries or sectors across a region or country.
Strikes can have significant economic and social implications, affecting both employers and workers, as well as the broader community. They are often a last resort when negotiations between labor and management break down.
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The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress as well and their affiliates from embarking on any strike or industrial action.
The unions had after an extraordinary National Executive Council meeting on Tuesday in Abuja declared a total nationwide strike from November 14, 2023.
The unions took the decision following the alleged assault on the NLC National President, Joe Ajaero last week in Imo State.
However, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Minister of Justice filed an ex-parte application praying to the court to stop the unions from embarking on the planned strike.
In the application, the FG and AGF told the court that the strike would inflict untold hardship on law-abiding citizens and their businesses.
Counsel for the Federal Government and the AGF, Tijani Gazali SAN during the proceedings on Friday argued that many Nigerians suffered when the labour unions during their demonstration on Thursday blocked the entrances to the main Airports in the country.
He pleaded with the court that unless the planned strike action is stopped, there may be a likelihood of a breach of peace and tranquility in the country.
In his ruling, the president of the Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip cited sections 17 and 19 of the National Industrial Court Act and ordered the unions to stop their nationwide strike.
“It is within the power of the court to intervene by way of restraining order to ensure peace and tranquility,” he said.
Kanyip directed that the restraining order be pasted on the wall of the Labour House which is the last known address of the two defendants to draw their attention to the court’s position.
The Judge also directed that the order along with the originating and other processes be served on the defendants by publication in two major national dailies
