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Court stops Labour strike
I have no powers to stop action, says Oshiomhole
From Emmanuel Onwubiko (Abuja) Simeon Nwaukadu (Makurdi) and Tunji Omofoye (Ibadan)
THE Federal Government has again succeeded in getting the law court to stop plans by Labour to embark on a strike over fuel price increase.
As happened last year when an Abuja High Court restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on the eve of going on a strike, another Abuja court yesterday raised the "yellow card" before the NLC not to embark on a strike on Tuesday until substantive issues over the fuel price increase were determined.
But in a swift reaction to the court order, the NLC said it did not order Tuesday's strike. Rather, it is organised Labour and a coalition of Civil Societies that did and therefore, it, the NLC, could not be restrained by any court from going on the strike. The Federal Court of Appeal, Abuja gave the order yesterday.
The Federal High Court had earlier voided the office of the NLC President and stopped the NLC from protesting against government's economic policies. Justice Roseline Ukeje had on September 21, 2004 ruled against Labour led-strikes against issues that do not relate to employment agreements.
The ruling was at the instance of the Federal Government's lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) who asked that NLC be restrained in the interim from embarking on the proposed strike. The Federal Government came by way of a motion on notice, which was however, not argued because the NLC's lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana told the court that he has not consulted with his clients on the new application by the Federal Government.
Before the three-justices Appeal Court panel, presided over by Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed, Falana had opposed the prayer by Babalola that he (Falana) make an undertaking that the Labour union will not go on strike until after the determination of the applications pending before the court.
Falana who appeared alongsided four other lawyers also opposed an oral application by Babalola that an interim order be made to forestall the start of the nation-wide strike. The Appeal Court also imposed a November 17, 2004 return date on the parties for the hearing of all the applications including the appeal filed by Labour. However, nothing was said by the justices about the formal motion on notice filed by Babalola, which sought to restrain the Labour union from going ahead with the strike. It was not heard because the labour union's legal team said they had not consulted with their clients.
At the end of the session, Babalola urged the NLC to comply with the decision of the appellate court by not making good their threat to go on strike next week. Falana said when he gets a certified true copy of the ruling by the appellate court, he will then advise his clients as appropriate. Falana seized the opportunity to chip in that the current administration has embarked on a voyage aimed at destroying the polity through arbitrary increase in the pump prices of petroleum products.
Justice Muhammed who read the ruling during which he granted the interim order restraining Labour stated; "It is true that the appeal pending before this court has a great bearing on the lives of Nigerians and ought to be disposed expeditiously. But the NLC has said through his lawyers that they have not sufficiently consulted among themselves on the pending application. But a glaring thing to find out is whether the lack of consultation was due to negligence or circumstances beyond the control of the officials of the labour union.
"I am inclined to adjourn this matter so as to give the labour union fair hearing. But the adjournment is subject to the following conditions; an interim order is necessary so that the respondents shall not embark on strike on November 16, 2004 because the court may not be sure the matter will be disposed off before the planned strike," he added.
Justice Muhammad whose ruling was unanimously endorsed by his two colleagues, Justices Gbadebo Oduyemi and Mary Odili also ordered: "The respondents are restrained from embarking on strike on November 16, 2004 or any other date pending the determination of the motion on notice, which will now come up on November 17, 2004."
In the motion on notice, the Federal Government had asked the Court of Appeal to make:
- An order restraining the appellants and respondents (NLC and Adams Oshiomhole) their officers, privies, associates, and any person however described from continuing their acts of contempt by disobeying the order of the Federal High Court delivered on Tuesday, September 21, 2004, which is now the subject of appeal before this court;
- An order restraining the appellants and respondents (NLC) by themselves, agents, privies or otherwise however called from embarking on strike action on November 16, 2004 or any other date thereafter until the determination of the appeal;
- An order of court directing the appellants to give undertaking not to disobey the subsisting order of court, which is the subject matter of the appeal before the court pending the determination of the appeal pending in this suit;
- An order of injunction restraining the NLC, his officers, privies, associates, servants, agents and other persons however described from summoning any meeting, holding any rally and or convoking any gathering or implementing or planning or preparing for any strike action in respect of the subject-matter of this appeal pending the hearing and determination of the appellant's appeal.
Government also had an omnibus prayer for any such order as the court may deem appropriate in the present circumstances to make.
In the substantive appeal, the NLC is asking the appellate court to jettison the judgment turned in by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court that the NLC can not call a strike on any matter that is not within the purview of terms of employment. Already, the NLC counsel said that they have compiled the records of appeal to necessitate a speedy hearing.
However, a statement signed by the NLC President, Adams Oshiomhole` reads: "I have received some inquiries in respect of an interim ruling purported to have been made by the Court of Appeal on the general strike/mass campaign scheduled to commence on 16th of November, 2004.
"I wish to say that I have not been served with any order. However, assuming that there was such an order, I am not in a position to stop the strike. Indeed, it is impracticable for me as an individual to use my bare hands to stop a moving train, which the forthcoming strike represents.
"In addition, the NLC is just one out of many labour and civil society organisations that are organising the strike. These organisations are not parties to the court case.
"Therefore, restraining the NLC in the circumstance is of no consequence since millions of Nigerians have defined their states in the strike/mass campaign, which many other Labour and civil society organisations are involved in organising.
"Indeed, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC had only yesterday Wednesday met at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to reaffirm the November 16, 2004 date for the commencement of the general strike/mass campaign being organised in concert with other labour and civil society organisations.
"Therefore, the general strike/mass campaign scheduled to commence on Tuesday, 16th of November, 2004 shall proceed as planned by the hundreds of popular organisations in the country to protest the current prices of petroleum products."
Reacting to the ruling, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) advised the NLC to obey the court order.
According to him, the role of the court in sustaining the nascent democracy cannot be over-emphasised.
In the same vein, the Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan, Most Rev. Felix Alaba Job has cautioned against the proposed indefinite strike.
He said the action would worsen the country's fragile economy.
Speaking with reporters yesterday in Ibadan on the first synod of the Archdiocese holding from November 16 to19, the eminent cleric said Labour should consider other options instead of calling workers out on strike.
He said the reform measure introduced by President Olusegun Obasanjo were necessary antidotes to correct the wrong in the nation's socio-economic and political system. He noted that the efforts by the President should enjoy the support of well-meaning Nigerians.
According to him, "the Nigerian workers do not have to cut their nose to spite their face," stressing that labour leaders must weigh the consequences of the strike before the workforce is asked to abandon their jobs.
Said he: "I am in support of total deregulation in the downstream of the oil sector and my position is informed by the belief that government has no business running enterprises that can be handled better by the private sector."
The religious leader said Nigerians should regard the pains and hardship the nation is passing through as part of the sacrifices to cleanse the rot and put the economy back on a healthy course.
However, the Benue State chapter of the NLC has said that it has concluded plans to join the nation wide strike scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
Briefing journalists in Makurdi yesterday, the state labour leader, Mr. Boya Abuul noted that a meeting to fine tune strategies for participation in the strike began on Monday. He added that workers in the private and public sectors in the state have agreed to join the action.
He said: "We have held meetings with commercial motorcyclists, market women, bus drivers, civil servants and civil societies and they all agreed to participate in the strike."
Abuul regretted that the Federal Government did not consider the four-day warning strike weighty enough to revert the fuel prices.
"We thought the last warning strike will send enough signals to the Federal Government, but it appears that government has concluded to continue with such inhuman policies," he declared.
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