The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have asked staff of the Federal Capital Territory to continue with the industrial action despite the restraining order by the National Industrial Court.
A statement jointly signed by NLC’s acting General Secretary, Benson Upah and TUC Secretary General Dr. Nuhu Toro said the order of interlocutory injunction obtained by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike was against the two individual union leaders and not against the striking trade unions.
The two labour centres, while expressing solidarity with unions, urged the workers to continue to observe the strike and to be courageous “in the face of relentless threats”.
“We use this opportunity to give unsolicited advice to the judiciary. We commend the honest judges who have given their all in order to give hope to the weak and the poor, ensure law and order in our society as well as see to the protection of the rights of the citizenry,
“ We put on notice, cash and carry judges who continue to constitute a smudge on the judiciary and whose conduct imperils our society, that they cannot be insulated from the consequences of the storms they create and they will be held accountable, if not by man, by God for the destruction of their society or for accelerating the unraveling of their society.
“Workers cannot be made slaves in their country. We stand for the rule of law and its observance to the hilt, no matter the status of the parties to this dispute. Accordingly, we not only support the workers in this action, we urge them to maintain high morale in the face of relentless threats.
“Finally, this strike continues until the Minister of FCT comes off his high horse and negotiates with the workers,” the labour organisations said.
The two labour centres regretted that rather than utilise the window provided by the judicial intervention to reach out to organised labour for an amicable resolution of the issues, the FCT administration had resorted to threats against workers.
“The offences committed against the FCT workers are serious enough. To add intimidation, humiliation, insults and harassment to the menu is something we cannot watch from the sidelines,” they added.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
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