Industrial Court Grants Agf’s Request, Restrains Nlc From Proceeding With Strike

BEVERLY HILLS, May 17, (THEWILL) – The National Industrial Court has restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, from going ahead with its planned strike, pending the hearing and determination of a suit brought before it by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF.

The President of the court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, gave the order on Tuesday and it is to elapse after seven days.

Ruling on an exparte motion filed by the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, the court ordered parties to maintain the status quo until the hearing and determination of the exparte motion.

The Justice minister had asked the court to decide whether the NLC complied with conditions precedent in law before threatening to embark on strike, adding that the Industrial Court's refusal to grant the application would render the suit useless.

No counsel represented the Nigeria Labour Congress at the proceeding.

When asked by the presiding judge how he knew the NLC was planning to go on strike, Malami said he saw a statement issued by the labour union on their website and that the statement had been published by the media.

Justice Adejumo directed the government to dialogue with the NLC towards an amicable resolution of their dispute, after which he adjourned the case to May 24 for hearing of the motion on notice.

The NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and their affiliate unions had threatened to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike action over the fuel pump price increment by the Federal Government.

The federal government is already holding talks with the labour union to address issues raised by the union after the government announced a new price band for petrol, raising it from 86.50 to 145 Naira per litre. The union has rejected the 67.6 per cent increase in the price of petrol are is planning for a nationwide strike due to commence on Wednesday.

Both parties could not reach an agreement in an earlier meeting on Monday, forcing them to reschedule the meeting for Tuesday afternoon.