The National Industrial Court (NICN) in Abuja has ordered workers under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to immediately suspend their ongoing strike and resume work.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Emmanuel Subilim held that the workers’ decision to embark on an industrial action while the matter is already before the court amounts to self-help, which is not permissible under the law.
The judge acknowledged that workers in the Federal Capital Territory are constitutionally entitled to go on strike but emphasized that such a right is not absolute. He cited Section 18(1)(b) of the Trade Dispute Act, which expressly prohibits workers from embarking on a strike over issues that have already been referred to the Industrial Court for adjudication.
Justice Subilim further ruled that where an industrial action has already commenced while a dispute is pending before the court, such action must be halted immediately.
Based on these findings, the court directed the protesting workers to call off the strike without delay and return to their duty posts.
The ruling followed a suit filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, alongside the FCTA. Named as defendants in the suit, marked NICN/ABJ/17/2026, were the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Saleh.
The workers had embarked on the strike to protest what they described as unresolved welfare issues, including a backlog of five months’ unpaid salaries, long-standing promotion arrears, and poor working conditions across the FCT.
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