UPDATED: Court Orders FCTA Workers To Suspend Strike
The National Industrial Court, Abuja has ordered workers of the Federal Capital Territory to suspend their ongoing industrial strike action pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim made the order while ruling on an application filed by the Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike seeking an order compelling the striking workers to return to work.
The FCT Minister sued the leadership of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC) following the commencement of the industrial action by workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/17/2026, was filed against the President and Secretary of JUAC, Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, respectively.
In his ruling, Justice Subilim held that once a trade dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court, any ongoing industrial action, including a strike, must be suspended in line with the law.
Granting the application brought by the FCT Minister, the court issued an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the workers and their representatives from further embarking on any strike action pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
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“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted, restraining the claimants and their representatives from further embarking on any industrial action against the claimant. This order shall remain in force pending the determination of this suit,” Justice Subilim ruled.
The court anchored its decision on Section 18(1)(b) and 18(1)(e) of the Trade Disputes Act, which mandates the suspension of industrial action once a dispute has been formally referred to the National Industrial Court for adjudication.
Justice Subilim held that where a strike is already ongoing before such a referral, the law requires that the strike must cease upon referral of the dispute to the court.
According to the court, failure to comply with the provisions of Section 18 of the Trade Disputes Act attracts sanctions.
The court also ruled that allowing the continuation of the strike while the matter is already before the court would amount to a resort to self-help, which is not permissible under the law.
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Justice Subilim emphasized that although workers have a constitutional right to embark on industrial action, such right is not absolute and must be exercised within the confines of the law.
Consequently, the court ordered the striking FCTA workers to immediately suspend the strike and resume work.
The matter was thereafter adjourned to March 25 for the hearing of the substantive suit.
The workers had embarked on the strike over unresolved welfare issues, including allegations of a backlog of five months’ unpaid salaries, long-outstanding promotion arrears, and poor working conditions within the FCT.
