Court Orders Labour Minister, Registrar Trade Union To Register LOAN As Trade Union
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) presided over by the President of the Court, Justice B.B. Kanyip has delivered judgment allowing the Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) to be registered as a Trade Union in Nigeria.
The Court Wednesday held that the Registrar of Trade Unions and the Minister of Labour and Productivity were wrong to have refused the registration of LOAN in 2012 as a Trade Union.
The plaintiffs are LOAN President Barrister Yusuf Abdulkareem Abdulkadir and Joseph Olodiami Jebba esq and 15 others on behalf of LOAN members nationwide while the defendants are the Minister of Labour, Registrar Trade Union, Attorney General of the Federation and the President of JUSUN.
The court held that refusal to register LOAN as a Trade Union by the Registrar of Trade Unions as well as the ratification of same by the Minister of Labour and Productivity were quashed and accordingly declared null and void.
The Court further held that Registrar of Trade Union and the Minister of Labour and Productivity should register Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) forthwith as a Trade union in the country.
According to stakeholders in the justice sector, the NICN President have by this judgment released Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) from bondage since 2012.
In the suit, the plaintiffs are asking for a
declaration that the Law Officers who are members of LOAN are employees in the Executive Arm of Government and are not in the same employment or organization with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) who are employees in the Judicial Arm of Government in Nigeria
According to LOAN, there |s no correlation between the Law Officers and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the latter cannot, in anyway whatsoever protect, represent and/or fight for the interest of the Law Officers.
LOAN therefore prayed for an order of Certiorari quashing the refusal of the Minister of Labour and Employment and/or the Registrar of Trade Unions to register the Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) and consequently declare same unconstitutional, unjustifiable and therefore, null and void.
As well as an order directing the Registrar of Trade Unions to register the LOAN as a Trade Union having fulfilled all the prerequisite.
