*Restrains NURTW from collecting dues, fees, tolls from them

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The National Industrial Court, NIC, sitting in Port Harcourt, has ruled that the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, is the sole Union to unionise and collect fees, dues, tolls or any payments whatsoever of all workers or persons engaged by clearing and forwarding agencies for the purpose of haulage of containerised goods.

The ruling followed a suit instituted by MWUN against National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, seeking among others, a perpetual injunction restraining  NURTW either by itself, agents, privies, officers, staff, workers or whosoever and by whatsoever name so called acting or purporting to act on its behalf from demanding fees, dues, tolls or any payments whatsoever from the claimant’s members, whether of its haulage unit or otherwise, or in any manner whatsoever coercing or doing any act consistent with compelling the members of the claimant aforesaid to pay any dues to the defendant.

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Delivering judgment, Justice Z. M. Bashire, on November 25, 2020 , in the suit NICN/PHC/12/2015, granted all the prayers  of the claimant (MWUN) against the defendant (NURTW), on union membership and the payment of levies or union dues.

According to the judgment’ “the court makes a declaration that the claimant’s members whether of its haulage unit or otherwise, not being members of the defendant, are not within the control of the defendant’s trade union and thus not liable to pay union dues, fees, tolls, or any fee of whatsoever nature to the defendant or its members.

“A declaration that the defendant cannot in law compel members of the claimant (whether of its haulage unit or otherwise) to become members of the defendant.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant either by itself, agents, privies, officers, staff, workers or whosoever and by whatsoever name so called acting or purporting to act on its behalf from demanding fees, dues, tolls or any payments whatsoever from the claimant’s members (whether of its haulage unit or otherwise), or in any manner whatsoever coercing or doing any act consistent with compelling the member of the claimant aforesaid to pay any dues to the defendant.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant either by itself, agents, privies, officers, staff, workers or whosoever and by whatsoever name s -called acting or purporting to act on its behalf from harassing or molesting members of the claimant (whether of its haulage unit or otherwise) either along the highways or any roads constructed by any of the tiers of government in Nigeria.”

Vanguard News Nigeria