Court stops NLC, TUC’s planned strike

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Abuja
has restrained the organised labour from proceeding on its planned
nationwide indefinite industrial action.

Justice Sanusi Kado gave the order on Friday while delivering a
ruling on an ex-parte application restraining the Nigerian Labour
Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on
the strike scheduled to commence on November 6.

The judge granted the application pending the determination of
the substantive suit filed by the Federal Government and the
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) against both unions.

Justice Sanusi also restrained the NLC, the TUC and the
Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Governors Forum (listed as
the first, second, and third defendants) from taking steps capable
of destroying the subject of the dispute.

He said he was moved to granting the ex-parte application argued
by the Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF), Dayo Apata,
because of the likely devastating effect of the strike on the
nation, its economy and the people.

The hearing of the main suit has been fixed for November 8.

The organised labour is demanding N30,000 as a new minimum wage
for workers in the country, as against the existing N18,000.

Following a series of negotiations and meetings between the
government and labour leaders which ended in a deadlock, the NLC
and TUC threatened to embark on a fresh nationwide strike on
Tuesday next week.

The unions had explained that the decision was necessary
following what they described as the government’s unwillingness to
implement a new minimum wage for workers in the country.

Reacting to the new minimum wage demanded by the workers, the
Nigeria Governors’ Forum said most states lacked the capacity to
pay such an amount.

The governors who said some of their colleagues were still
struggling to pay the existing N18,000, however, agreed to pay
N22,500.

This was strongly rejected by labour leaders who had insisted
that there was no going back on their decision.