The Trade Union Congress, or TUC, has made it clear that no court order was received by it to halt the current statewide strike.
Festus Osifo, the president of the TUC, revealed this on Channels TV on Wednesday.
Remember that the police and Imo State government officials attacked NLC President Joe Ajaero on Tuesday, prompting the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and TUC to go on a statewide strike.
According to reports, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, petitioned the national industrial court to prevent the unions from going on the planned strike by filing an ex-parte application.
In his decision, Justice Benedict Kanyip, the Court’s President, ordered the unions to end their statewide strike, citing Sections 17 and 19 of the National Industrial Court Act.
However, Mr. Osifo questioned how the government, which has disregarded many court decisions, expected other institutions to follow suit.
But once such an order is received, he continued, organised labour will confer with its legal counsel.
“Yes, there is no service based on a court order, but the administration we have now consistently disobeys court rulings.
How many court orders were issued for Emefiele’s release while she was being held by DSS? An infinite quantity of them.
“We have a state that disobeys court rulings. You now demand that everyone follow judicial orders.
“However, as responsible institutions, once we see it, we won’t say because the Federal Government consistently violates court institutions; we’ll look into it and if it’s the right thing to do, then we definitely will,” he remarked.