The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have directed members on the payroll of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to resume work immediately.
The decision was reached following a meeting between the
unions, Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and the
senate committee on FCT.
The meeting commenced on Monday night and ended in the early
hours of Tuesday.
In a statement released after the meeting, the unions said
complaints of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC) were fully addressed
during the meeting.
The unions said it was agreed that all cases in the national
industrial court pertaining to the dispute should be withdrawn.
“The honourable Minister assured Organised Labour of mutual
respect and sustained engagement going forward,” the statement reads.
“It was agreed that, arising from the strike action, no
worker shall be victimised in any manner.
“All outstanding cases at the National Industrial Court
(NIC) shall be withdrawn immediately.
“Consequently, all JUAC members and all affiliates of the
TUC and NLC working in the Ministry of the FCT (MFCT) are hereby directed to
resume work immediately.
“All affiliates are enjoined to comply strictly with this
directive in the interest of industrial peace and harmony in good faith.”
The statement was jointly signed by Nuru Toro, TUC
secretary-general, and Benson Upah, acting NLC general secretary.
On Monday, a national industrial court in Abuja restrained
NLC and TUC from embarking on the protest scheduled for Tuesday, February 3.
Emmanuel Subilim, the presiding judge, gave the ruling
following an ex parte application filed by Wike and the FCTA.
BACKGROUND
On January 19, FCTA workers began an indefinite strike over
“authorities’ failure to address long-standing labour and welfare demands”.
The strike led to the shutdown of activities across
secretariats, departments and agencies of the FCTA and FCDA, which prompted the
minister to sue the JUAC.
On January 27, a national industrial court in Abuja ordered
the workers to suspend the strike
Delivering the ruling, the presiding judge held that
although the matter before the court amounted to a trade dispute, the
defendants’ right to embark on industrial action was not absolute.
The judge had said once a dispute has been referred to the
national industrial court, any ongoing strike must cease pending the
determination of the case.
On January 27, the office of the head of civil service in
the FCTA directed all workers across its secretariats, departments and agencies
to immediately resume duties.
However, the NLC asked its members to continue their strike
action.
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