The National Industrial Court has stopped the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) from embarking on or continuing any industrial action against INTELS Nigeria Limited.
The presiding Justice Faustina Iyabode Kola-Olalere gave the order of interim injunction Wednesday, December 16, 2020 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in her ruling on an ex-parte motion in suit number NICN/PHC/155/2020 filed by INTELS.
She also restrained the unions from preventing INTELS staff from entering the company’s operational areas and facilities to perform their duties.
MWUN and SSASCGOC had begun an indefinite strike at INTELS on Monday, December 14, over the redundancy of some workers at the Onne Port in Rivers State, an action the company said had negatively impacted its services at the port.
According to the logistics company, the affected workers were not its employees but staff of one of its labour contractors, Associated Maritime Services Limited (AMS).
Ruling on the motion ex-parte, pending the determination of the motion on notice, Justice Kola-Olalere restrained all the defendants and their agents, as contained in the application on pages I36 and 137, “from continuing their industrial action, work to rule, strike and/or work stoppage which will howsoever affect the business activities of the claimant/applicant or any of its clients in any of the claimant/applicant’s four operational areas located at Onne and Port Harcourt ports in Rivers State, Warri in Delta State, and Calabar Port in Cross River State.
Simili modo, in prayer 2 the court restrained “the defendants, their agents, assigns, executors, representatives and persons corporate and non-corporate claiming through them from preventing the staff of the claimant, or those seconded to it by other companies and who are not affected by the declaration of redundancy, from entering the operational areas and facilities of the claimant/applicant and performing their duties and/or rendering services for which they were employed by the claimant/applicant in any of the four operational areas.”
In prayer 3, it restrained the listed in prayer 2 above “from preventing the claimant/applicant’s staff and those seconded to it from exercising their freedom of movement, including entering into and exiting the claimant/applicant, its associated companies and clients; premises, facilities and areas of the operation” located at the four areas.
In addition, Justice Kola-Olalere ordered all the processes on the motion ex-parte, together with the court’s ruling plus the motion on notice, to be “promptly” served on the defendants. The case was adjourned till February 15, 2021 for mention.
