By Uche Onyeali
Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) has told the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, that their planned June 3 strike action is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.
Fagbemi, in a letter to the leadership of the two unions on the consequences of their actions in respect of the planned strike, faulted the mode of its declaration as being in gross violation of labour laws.
The AGF therefore warned them to shelve the strike and return to the negotiation table so as not to run foul of the law guiding labour dispute.
Fagbemi, who cited various relevant laws, insisted that NLC and TUC ought to have served a 15-day notice on the federal government before contemplating any strike action.
He said the two bodies also violated the International Labour Organisation’s, ILO, laws because the conditions precedent for declaration of strike action were neither employed nor met.
He said the order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria which barred NLC and TUC from going on strike is still in force and binding on all parties in the labour dispute.
The letter personally signed by the AGF emphasised that the order of the court had not been appealed by the unions neither was it stayed or set aside and counselled the workers leaders to respect the subsisting court order.
He declared the planned strike action as premature, illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional and pleaded with the workers not to proceed with it.
The AGF, however, suggested that the two labour unions proceed to the negotiation meeting already adjourned to a date that would be communicated to them.
The letter was copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, National Security Adviser, NSA, Inspector-General of Police IGP and director-general, Department of State Services, DSS
