The National Industrial Court in Abuja has directed the Federal Government to officially register the National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities (NANTS) as a trade union.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, ruled that the refusal of the relevant government authorities to register the association was unlawful.
Politics Nigeria reports that the decision was contained in the enrolment order of the court made available on Tuesday.
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/345/2023, was filed by NANTS through Comrade Niyi Akinnibi. The association had approached the court seeking an order compelling the government to grant it legal recognition as a trade union under the provisions of the Trade Unions Act.
Joined in the suit as defendants were the Registrar of Trade Unions, the Minister of Labour and Employment, and the Attorney General of the Federation.
In its ruling, the court held that the authorities responsible for trade union registration were under obligation to register the association. The judge declared that the continued refusal to do so was wrongful and inconsistent with the provisions of the law.
The court subsequently issued a mandatory order directing the Registrar of Trade Unions and the Minister of Labour and Employment to immediately complete the registration process and issue the association its certificate of registration.
Part of the judgment stated: “A declaration is hereby made that the defendants are bound to register the claimant’s National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities as a Trade Union under the Trade Union Act.
” A declaration is hereby made that the refusal of the first and second defendants to register the claimant’s National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities as a Trade Union under the Trade Unions Act is wrongful.
“A mandatory order is hereby made directing the first and second defendants to register forthwith and or to issue the claimant forthwith with the certificate of registration of the National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities as a Trade Union under the Trade Unions Act.
“An order of perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, assigns or any other person or authority deriving authority from them from denying claimant registration as a trade union under the Trade Unions Act.”
The court also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their representatives and any authority acting on their behalf from obstructing or denying the association’s registration as a trade union in the future.
The judgment is expected to reshape the landscape of university workers’ representation across the country, as NANTS moves closer to operating as an independent union with full legal backing.
Findings indicate that members of the association had broken away from the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and commenced efforts to establish a separate platform to represent the interests of non-teaching workers in tertiary institutions.
Sources familiar with the development said the new union already has structures and branches spread across federal and state-owned universities nationwide, a factor that strengthened its case for registration.
