Labour ‘must respect’ court order on strike

Network for Accountability and Transparency Crusade, a civil society organsation (CSO), has urged organised labour to respect the court order halting its proposed nationwide strike action schedule to begin Tuesday.

The National Industrial Court in Abuja had asked labour to shelve the strike action scheduled for November 6.

But some labour leaders have reportedly vowed that the court order will not stop the industrial action.

Roland Giwa, national coordinator of the group, said the government has put forward tangible explanations why the N30,000 minimum wage demanded by the labour unions is not feasible.

He said there are already allegations the intended strike is politically motivated, but urged the labour leaders to rise above such personal interest and return to the negotiation table.

Giwa said going by its antecedents as a pan Nigerian organisation, labour should be the last group ever to disobey a valid court order.

“The organised labour in Nigeria has been known to stand for truth. They have been known to protect the interest of workers in general and not a select few,” he said.

“At the risk of portraying the organised labour in Nigeria as a dictatorial organisation, and one with contempt for the rule of law, the labour leaders at the negotiating table should not allow the smell of filthy enticement make them lose their sense of dignity and that of the millions of workers that they represent.

“The Nigerian workers have been subjected to untold hardship over the years, and to think that the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari has introduced measures towards alleviating their hardship should be commended and encouraged instead.

“We urge the labour leaders to have a rethink about disobeying court orders and going ahead with the proposed strike action, and not when it is politically motivated by the same set of politicians who through their actions and inactions while in office worsened the plight of Nigerian workers.”