Kwara: Industrial Court stops workers from going on strike

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The National Industrial Court in Akure, the capital city of Ondo State, on Monday granted an exparte order restraining the labour unions in Kwara State from proceeding on an industrial strike over disagreements on the signing and implementation of the minimum wage.

This was contained in a statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Rafiu Ajakaye.

The order was granted by Justice D.K. Damulak of the Akure Division of the Industrial Court.

It states that the order came as the labour unions directed its members to proceed on an indefinite strike from Tuesday unless the government accedes to its requests.

The ex parte order has been served on the labour unions in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday afternoon.

The industrial action is therefore supposed to be suspended pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The court, among other things, granted an order of interim injunction restraining the “defendants/ respondents jointly and severally by themselves, their agents, servants, employees, workmen, privies or authorities how so ever described from declaring any strike or industrial action or embarking on the planned industrial action of any nature effective on the 12th and/or 13th day of October, 2020 or at any other date.

The government is asking the court to declare that the local government is a separate tier of government with its own financial autonomy and which wages could not be determined by the state government, irrespective of some oversight powers the state government may have on them — just as the federal government also has some oversight powers on the states.

The case may go down in Nigerian history as the first of such which seeks to assert the financial autonomy and quasi-independence of the local government as a tier of government.

The court has adjourned to October 20 to hear the motion.