Court stops Nigerian workers planned strike, protest

Protest
Members of the Nigerian labour movement

The National Industrial Court on Thursday, in Abuja, issued an interim order restraining the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on the nationwide protest and their strike planned to begin on Monday, September 28, 2020.

Justice Ibrahim Galadima granted the interim order following an ex-parte application filed by a group, Peace and Unity Ambassadors Association through their counsel, Sunusi Musa.

The NLC and TUC had mobilised their members for an industrial action scheduled to commence Monday, September 28, 2020 to press for the reversal of the upward review in electricity tariff and pump price of petrol.

But Justice Galadima had ordered the labour unions, their executives, and affiliate groups to put on hold the planned strike pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the applicant.

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Also, the presiding judge granted an order of interim injunction restraining the unions from disrupting, restraining, picketing or preventing the workers or ordinary Nigerians from accessing their offices to carry out their legitimate duties on the day fixed for the strike to start, or any other date.

The court also granted an order compelling the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General Department of State Services (DSS) to provide protection for workers engaged in their legitimate duties from any form of harassment, intimidation and bullying by the officers, agents or privies of the labour unions pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.