The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC have asked the National Industrial Court, Abuja, to set aside its interim order that barred the unions from embarking on their planned strike in protest of the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government.
The organised labour in a motion they filed through their lawyer, Femi Falana SAN averred that the case against it is; liable to be struck out for want of jurisdiction and the ex-parte order set aside.
They maintained that the case by the FG against them before the NIC was; offensive to certain provisions of the constitution and liable to be vacated.
NLC
Both the NLC and the TUC argued that the court; lacked the jurisdictional competence to hear and determine the case “as it was; filed in violation of Section 17 {2} of the Trade Disputes Act, which authorizes the Minister of Labour and Employment to; refer a trade dispute directly to the National Industrial Court.”
“This court as presently constituted; lacks the jurisdictional competence to hear and determine the matter and or; make any orders as regards the trade Dispute {subject matter of this suit}; for failure to first refer the trade dispute to the Industrial Arbitration Panel as mandated by part 1 of TDA.
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“The claimants’ suit offends the lucid provisions of Order 3 Rules 1 and 6 of the National Industrial Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2017.
The union further contended for their rights 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.”
Fundamental right
More so, the NLC and the TUC insisted that by virtue of Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, Nigerian workers have the fundamental right to protest against policies of the government considered inimical to their interests.
Furthermore, they argued that the suit by FG did not disclose a reasonable cause of action against them.
