AUPCTRE not trade union for IST staff, Industrial Court declares

The National Industrial Court, Abuja on Tuesday declared that the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Technical and Recreational Employees was not the trade union the staff of Investment and Securities Tribunal should belong to.

Justice Sanusi Kado, who made the declaration, held that although Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and Section 12 of the Trade Union Act stipulated that employees can belong to any union of their choice, it must be within their industry.

Kado in addition declared that AUCPTRE was not the legal body to represent the IST staff because the Tribunal was a court and the staff ought to belong to Trade Union that had judicial orientations

The judge concluded by saying that the claimant (Registrar, IST) should not interfere or stop the staff from joining a union of their choice so long as it was within the judicial industry.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the claimant had earlier in June 2018 dragged the defendant (AUCPTRE) and its IST branch Chairman and Secretary before the National Industrial Court.

The claimant through an ex-parte motion had obtained an order of the court stopping the IST staff (some of who are union members of AUPCTRE) from embarking on strike.

NAN also reports that in delivering the judgment, the judge, however, dismissed the exhibit tendered by the claimant as proof of the plan of the staff to embark on strike on the ground that it was a photocopy.

The judge also said the reasons for the planned strike was because of the claimant’s failure to meet the staff’s demand.

Kado however said the claimant cannot grant the demands without the approval of the appropriate authorities.

NAN reports that one of the demand was the failure of the Tribunal management to implement a Management-Labour Agreement signed on March 13, 2018.

Another of their demand was over an alleged non-payment of severance allowances to retired staff.