By Oluyemi Ogunseyin
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has restated its confidence in the country’s judiciary, saying it remains unshakeable after its ruling on the Labour union’s planned strike action.
The NLC on Wednesday stated this via an official statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero.
Recall that the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had asked the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja, to set aside its interim order that stopped the two workers’ bodies from embarking on their planned industrial action against the recent removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT).
The NLC and TUC in a Motion on Notice dated June 7 but filed June 8 by their lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) claimed that the suit by the Federal Government “as presently constituted and the reliefs sought offends the lucid provisions of Section 254C (1) (f) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 7(6) of the National Industrial Court Act 2006.
The NLC has, however, issued a statement insisting that it could not disparage the judiciary in any circumstances, let alone the NICN that it held in high esteem.
“We will not disparage the judiciary,” NLC President, Ajaero said in the official press release.
“When we issued a statement last week expressing our displeasure over the casual manner some judges over the years have sought to hamstring organised labour from exercising its right to free speech and free association and lawful protest through interim orders for injunction made by way of ex parte applications, our intention was not to disparage the judiciary, let alone the National Industrial Court of Nigeria which we hold in high esteem,” he said.
“We at the Nigeria Labour Congress want to state unambiguously that our faith in the judiciary remains unshakeable.
“It shall continue to remain for us and the ordinary person the bastion of justice and refuge from storms, hailstones and floods.
“We will continue to respect our courts, honour our judicial officers as well as create value around the institution of the judiciary as part of the process of sustaining our democracy.
“In doing so, we are guided by the well-known credo that the only alternative to a credible judiciary are mob culture or tyranny which we are better off without.
“Our defence, protection and projection of the judiciary is consistent with our beliefs in the culture of law and order and has come a long way.
“We want to re-affirm hat in spite of the fact that the NICN quite often does not rule in our favour, we have a lot of respect for the court.”
The Organised Labour had alerted their members for a nationwide strike slated for June 7 but later suspended in protest against the over 200 per cent increase in the pump price of petrol across the country following the removal of petrol subsidy.
Following the alert, the FG through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) had approached the industrial court to intervene by stopping the strike.
Delivering ruling in the motion exparte, Justice O.Y. Anuwe on June 5, accordingly made an interim order of injunction “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 Claimants/Applicants motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”
But responding, the defendants claimed that they and their members have a right to strike under the Trade Unions Act, the Trade Disputes Act, the ILO Convention and under several international treaties the 1st Claimant/Applicant is a signatory to, urging the court to set aside the order.
Source: The Guardian