As the Nigerian Labour Congress prepares for a nationwide strike on August 2, the Federal Government described it as “illegal,” urging the NLC to obey a pending court decision barring the NLC from going on strike.
This was disclosed in a letter issued by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Beatrice Jedy-Agba.
According to the letter dated July 31 and obtained by News.ng on Tuesday, Ms Judy-Agba who is also the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, informed the NLC of an interim order clearly restraining NLC from embarking on industrial action of any nature.
Background
Following the federal government’s failure to reach an agreement on the recent hike in pump prices, the NLC issued a seven-day ultimatum to begin statewide protests on August 2.
In response to the NLC ultimatum, the federal government filed a complaint before the National Industrial Court in Abuja, trying to prevent the NLC from going on strike.
The court also issued an order prohibiting the NLC from carrying out the strike until the suit was heard and decided.
Despite the court injunction, the labour organisations have insisted on holding a huge protest on Wednesday.
Respect Court Order
In response, the federal government demanded that organised labour maintained the status quo and respect the pending case before the court.
The solicitor-general also cited a July 27th Communique issued by the NLC’s National Executive Council at the conclusion of its meeting, which stated that the labour unions were going on strike in response to a rise in fuel prices and subsequent issues of palliatives and workers’ welfare.
As a result, the federal government responded, “We assert that it is grossly inappropriate to lead public protest in relation to issues relating to or connected with fuel price increases, which are currently before the court!”
It, therefore, reiterated that the interim order clearly restrained NLC from embarking on industrial action of any nature.
