ASUU: Registration Of CONUA, NAMDA Violates Trade Unions Act – NLC Insists

…Demands immediate reversal

Following what it described as a gross violation of the Trade Unions Act by the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the immediate withdrawal of the certificates of registration granted the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Lecturers in Academics (NAMDA).

The NLC posited that the granting of Certificates of Registration to CONUA and NAMDA by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, is in clear violation of the laws which have been tested and affirmed from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to the Appeal Court and up to the Supreme Court.

It further said that having ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98, Nigeria domesticated the same in its Constitution especially Section 40 which guarantees freedom of association, stressing that the Constitution went on to regulate freedom of association in Section 41 (2) pursuant to public decorum and order since where one right ends another begins.

In a letter addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, the NLC pointedly declared that the action of the Federal Government clearly contradicts the stipulations of the Trade Unions Act.

The NLC specifically referred the Minister of Labour and Employment to a previous government action in 2013 under former Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu and the Registrar of Trade Union, Mrs N. Mbogu, that followed due process of the law and turned down the application for the registration of that Academic Staff Union of Inter-University Centres, stressing that they were already members of an already existing Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI).

The NLC reminded the Federal Government that the government had explained then that a trade union cannot be registered where one already exists for the same purpose.

It referred to the rejection letter dated 9th April, 2013, signed by Mrs N. Mbogu, which reads; “Re-Application for Registration of a Trade Union: Academic Staff Union of Inter-University Centres.

“I refer to your letter dated 13th March 2013 on the above subject and hereby inform you that your association, ‘Academic Staff Union of Inter-University Centres’ cannot be registered as a trade union in view of Section 3(2) and 5(4) of the Trade Union Act CAP T.14 of 2004 which stipulates as follows;

“S. 3(2): …no trade union shall be registered to represent Workers or Employers in a place where there already exists a trade union.

“S. 5(4) The Registrar shall not register a trade union if it appears to him that any existing trade is sufficiently representative of the class of persons whose interests the union intended to represent.

“In the light of the above, the class of workers your association intend to represent are under the jurisdiction of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI). You are, therefore, advised to align your members with the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions,” the rejection letter stated.

However, following the inability of the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities to resolve their differences as it affect tertiary institutions in the country, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government granted CONUA and NAMDA registration certificates.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige presented the certificates to the two Unions.

However, having carefully studied the process of the registration of both NONUA and NAMDA vis-a-viz the Trade Unions Act, the NLC pointedly told Ngige via a formal letter that the registration of CONUA and NAMDA clearly violate the nation’s labour laws.

The NLC letter states; “The foundation of these laws was set in international labour standards, particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) fundamental Conventions 87 and 98 which were some of the First lLO standards ratified by Nigeria upon the attainment of Independence.

“Nigeria’s labour laws in furtherance of the constitutional regulation on freedom of association provided certain conditions for the registration of trade unions upon which compliance Certificates of Registration can be given to trade unions by the Ministry of Labour.

“Section 3 of the Trade Union Act stipulates the following conditions for the registration of trade unions: (1) An application for the registration of a trade union shall be made to the Registrar in the prescribed form and shall be signed (a) in the case of a trade union of workers, by at least fifty members of the union; and (b) in the case of a trade union of employers, by at least two members of the union.

“(2) No combination of workers or employers shall be registered as a trade union save with the approval of the Minister on his being satisfied that it is expedient to register the union either by regrouping existing trade unions, registering a new trade union or otherwise howsoever, but no trade union shall be registered to represent workers or employers in a place where there already exists a trade union.

“Section 5 of Trade Union Act went on to stipulate the following additional conditions for the registration of a new trade union:

“(1) Where an application for the registration of a trade union is received by the Registrar, the following provisions of this section shall apply if a trade union is received by the Registrar Provided that if the application appears to the Registrar to be defective in any respect, he shall notify the applicant accordingly and shall take no further action in relation thereto until the application has been amended to his satisfaction or a fresh application is made in place thereof.

“(2) The Registrar shall cause a notice of the application to be published in the Federal Gazette, stating that objections to the registration of the trade union in question may be submitted to him in writing during the period of three months beginning with the date of the Gazette in which the notice is published.

“(3) Within three months after the end of the said period of three months the Registrar shall consider an objection submitted to him during that period and, if satisfied: (a) that no proper objection has been raised; (b) that none of the purposes of the trade union is unlawful; and (c) that the requirements of this Act and of the Regulations with respect to the registration of trade unions have been complied with, shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section, and to section 6 of this Act, register the trade union and its rules.

“(4) The Registrar shall not register the trade union if it appears to him that an existing trade union is sufficiently representative of the interests of the class of persons whose interest the union is intended to represent,” it stressed.

The NLC therefore declared that from the provisions of Section 3(2) and Sections 5(2), 5(3) and 5(4), there is clearly no basis for the purported registration of CONUA and NAMDA as both entities failed woefully to satisfy the conditions precedent as provided by the Trade Unions Act for the registration of trade unions.

The Labour body further noted that the legitimacy of granting registration certificates to groups in a sector where unions already exist has been tested in the courts from the National Industrial Court to the Supreme Court. In the case of Erasmus Osawe Vs Registrar of Trade Unions and also in the case of Nigeria Nurses Association Vs Attorney General of the Federation Unreported Suit No. S.C. 69/ 1980 delivered on 6th November 1981.

The NLC insisted that it is trite that anywhere there exists a union registered to cater for a category of the workforce it would be unpardonable proliferation and offence against the Constitution and Trade Unions Act for any other union to be registered for the same category of workers.

It also said; “And this position was more recently restated by the Supreme Court in a judgement delivered on 11th January 2008 and cited as (2008) 1 S.C. (PT.III) Supreme Court Justices led by Hon. Justice Sylvester Onu and four others”.

The NLC therefore urged the Minister of Labour that in view of the foregoing, respect the doctrine of the Rule of law especially the clear provisions of the Labour laws cited and withdraw the Certificate of Registration issued to the two new trade unions.