Court restricts labour unions from going on strike in Imo

An industrial court located in Imo's capital city of Owerri has issued an order prohibiting labour unions from going on strike within the state.

The presiding judge, Nelson Ogbuanya, heard the parties' arguments on Friday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and TUC secretary-general Nuhu Toro were the defendants in the case. Emmanuel Ugboaja was the NLC secretary-general.

In the lawsuit with case number NICN/OW/41/2023, the claimants were the Imo state government and the state attorney general.

According to Ogbuanya, the parties involved in the case have not yet resolved their disagreement.

“Considering the court’s duty to ensure that labour dispute and related disagreements between the parties are not allowed to escalate and adversely affect the interests and well-being of the citizenry and third parties who are not involved in the Labour dispute already submitted for adjudication in the pending suit in the court,” Ogbuanya said.

In the interim, while the court reserved the decision in the motion on notice, the parties were asked to maintain the status quo.

The court postponed making a decision until November 30 in order to consider the motion on notice.

In an effort to protest the purported infringement of workers' rights and privileges, the NLC pledged on October 30 to halt operations in Imo starting on November 1.

The Imo government, according to NLC President Joe Ajaero, has not paid certain employees for a period of twenty months.

According to reports, heavily armed police officers picked up Ajaero on Wednesday from the NLC's Imo council secretariat in Owerri.

According to the NLC, security personnel beat and blindfolded Ajaero as soon as they took him into custody.

Ajaero, according to the Imo police command, was placed in protective custody rather than being arrested in order to prevent a mob lynching.

Source