The National Industrial Court in Abuja has fixed January 27 to rule on an application seeking to stop workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from continuing their ongoing strike.

Justice Emmanuel Subilim adjourned the matter for ruling after listening to submissions from counsel representing both parties. The suit was filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is asking the court to compel the striking FCTA workers to resume duties.

The workers embarked on the strike over alleged unresolved welfare issues, including five months of unpaid salaries, long-outstanding promotion arrears, and poor working conditions.

In the suit, the FCT Minister and the FCTA are listed as claimants, while the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Saleh, are named as defendants.

Counsel to the defendants, Maxwell Okpara, urged the court to join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as respondents in the suit, arguing that their inclusion would make any order of the court binding on them.

However, counsel to the FCT Minister, James Onoja, SAN, opposed the request, insisting that the suit was properly constituted against only the two defendants, who he noted are not registered under the Trade Union Act.

Onoja urged the court to grant the application and order the striking workers to return to work, arguing that the industrial action has crippled essential services in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.

In his ruling on the joinder application, Justice Subilim held that since the claimants chose to sue only the two defendants, the court could not compel them to add additional parties.

The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until Tuesday, January 27, for ruling on the application for a restraining order.

Source; Channels News