labour protests As the FG accuses union leaders of disobidient
Tommy Etim, the National Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, criticized federal government efforts on Thursday to use the courts to prevent Organized Labor from beginning an indefinite statewide strike on Tuesday.
Etim declared that labor leaders would not be intimidated by the government and that they were willing to go to jail to further the cause of better working conditions for Nigerians.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had previously warned that the proposed strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and TUC was in violation of an active court order prohibiting the unions from announcing an industrial action. In light of this, the TUC deputy president made the statement.
Tommy Etim, the National Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, criticized federal government efforts on Thursday to use the courts to prevent Organized Labor from beginning an indefinite statewide strike on Tuesday.
Etim declared that labor leaders would not be intimidated by the government and that they were willing to go to jail to further the cause of better working conditions for Nigerians.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had previously warned that the proposed strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and TUC was in violation of an active court order prohibiting the unions from announcing an industrial action. In light of this, the TUC deputy president made the statement.
Read also>>>There is no agreement with FG to end the strike.
To protest the alleged failure of the Federal Government to provide workers with post-subsidy palliatives and implement policies that could lessen the suffering of the masses after the removal of the fuel subsidy, the NLC and TUC on Tuesday announced an indefinite strike with effect from October 3, 2023.
The unions had also instructed their state chapters and affiliates to mobilize for the nationwide shutdown of airports, seaports, electrical grids, and gasoline supplies, among other vital infrastructure and facilities.
However, the AGF reminded the NLC and TUC’s legal representatives in a letter written to Femi Falana, SAN, that the labor leaders’ disobedience to the order led to the ministry of justice filing a contempt case against them.
In response to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly’s intervention, he said, the ministry withdrew the lawsuit.
“You are kindly invited to recall the precedence of previous steps/actions on this matter, in particular the correspondence exchanged between this office and your firm prior to and following the nationwide “action/protest” declared by the NLC on August 2, 2023,” the letter said.
“While your clients have insisted that the NLC’s nationwide protest is in support of its constitutional right to engage in protests, the ministry has repeatedly urged you to advise your clients to avoid using self-help tactics and avoiding actions that could undermine current court orders from a competent jurisdiction.
“It should also be remembered that this office initiated contempt proceedings against the labor leaders based on the manner in which the aforementioned nationwide action/protest was conducted. The President and National Assembly intervened, and the labor unions decided to stop their action or protest, therefore the contempt procedures were not pursued any further. This was done on purpose to remove any obstacles from future negotiations between the government and the labor union.
“However, the NLC decided to start a comprehensive and indefinite shutdown of the country within 14 working days or 21 days from August 31, 2023, in its communiqué issued at the conclusion of its National Executive Council meeting.
The Presidents of the NLC and TUC simultaneously issued a communiqué on September 26, 2023, announcing that organized labor had decided to “enter into an indefinite and total shutdown of the nation beginning on zero hours Tuesday, the third day of October, 2023.”
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