The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said it is worried over the unpleasant condition under which workers in Abia State currently operate.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba noted that not only has the Abia State Government failed to implement the minimum wage, but it has also declined to pay workers as when due.

“Judges in the state were being owed over 18 months while schools are closed and doctors owed over 12 months”, the NLC President said, in his remarks at a public lecture organized by the National Industrial Court of Nigerian (NICN) in Abuja. Demanded to know what the labour movement in the state and the NLC were doing in the Abia case.

“I quickly checked and found out that the NLC Chairman in the state has retired from service. But, because he is doing the bidding of the government, he approached the government in writing to give him an extension,” he said.

Wabba added that when they heard of the development of the NLC its National Executive Council (NEC) objected to the Abia State Chairman’s request on the grounds that he has retired and that the position of the law is that a retired person cannot continue to lead workers.

The NLC President said rather than allow reason prevail, the Abia NLC Chairman went to court and obtained a perpetual injunction retaining him in office.

He argued that in such a case, the court has failed in its responsibility to always dispense justice.

“In that state too, doctors have not been paid for more than 12 months. That is the reality, and schools are closed.

Wabba noted that the nation’s economy flourishes where labour rights are protected and urged the court to always dispense justice without fear or favour to ensure a harmonious relationship in the workplace.

“There is a relationship between a good industrial system and productivity and the ability to attract foreign investment. No investor will come to a country where there is uncertainty, where there is no opportunity for you to seek redress for any wrong,” Wabba said.

The President of the NICN, Justice Benedict Kanyip and his counterpart from Trinidad and Tobago, Justice Deborah Thomas-Felix said moves were on to establish a Conference of Labour Court Judges for the region and the continent to deepen cooperation in the area of labour jurisprudence.

In her paper, titled: “The Role of Industrial Courts and International Labour Standards in Promoting Good Governance to Support Economic and Social Development,” Justice Thomas-Felix, who was the keynote speaker, stressed the importance of Industrial Courts in the maintenance of harmonious relationships in the workplace. (Nigerian Tribune)

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