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NATIONAL UNION OF TEXTILE, GARMENT AND TAILORING WORKERS AND NIGERIA KRAFT BAGS LIMITED (NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT) H ON. JUSTICE (CHIEF) P.A. ATILADE PRESIDENT DR O.I. ODUMOSU MEMBER S.O. KOKU,ESQ. MEMBER DR. E.C. IWUJI MEMBER ALHAJI Z.M. BELLO MEMBER SUIT NO: NIC/2M/79 DATE OF JUDGEMENT FRIDAY, 30th MAY, 1980 LABOUR LAW Redundancy benefits - Redundant workers - Right of to redundancy benefits. LABOUR LAW Trade dispute - Locked-out workers who refuse to resume work - Whether entitled to wages for the period of lock-out - Section 3A(l)(b), Trade Disputes (Amending) Decree, 1977 -Application of. LABOUR LAW Trade dispute - Lock-out - Arrears of salaries - Right of locked-out workers thereto. TRADE DISPUTE Lock-out -Arrears of salaries - Right of locked-out workers thereto. TRADE DISPUTE Lock-out - Locked-out workers who refuse to resume work - Whether entitled to wages for the period of lock¬out - Section 3A(l)(b), Trade Disputes (Amendment) Decree, 1977-Application of. TRADE DISPUTE Lock-out - Arrears of salaries - Right of locked-out workers thereto. ISSUES: 1. Whether the locked-out workers should be paid for the period of their lock-out. 2. Whether the Applicants were justified in asking that the 65 locked-out workers be paid their salaries for the number of days they worked in the month of October 1975, that is for the period 1st -16th October 1975. 3. Whether the 24 workers earlier declared redundant were entitled to be paid redundancy benefits in accordance with the formula contained in item (b) of the IAP Award, which had already been accepted by the Respondents. FACTS: The case arose from the application by the Applicant for an interpretation of the court's judgment in Suit No.NIC/8/78 between the parties. The judgment of the said suit related to two of the four items of the Award of the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) in respect of the same dispute on which the court adjudicated. The I. A.P had made the following Award in connection with the case: (a) The 2nd party is to reabsorb those of the 1st party who are willing to work with effect from the date they report for duty. Alternatively the 2nd party is to pay redundancy benefits as stipulated in Award (b) below. (b) The 2nd party is to pay to the 24 laid-off workers, redundancy benefits calculated on the basis of 2 weeks pay for each completed year of service. In addition the 2nd party will pay the workers’ salary in lieu of notice and other benefits such as accrued leave and leave allowance. c) Withholding of workers' regular annual increment, No Award. d) Victimization of workers for failure to do daily overtime; No Award". The Applicant had objected to items (a) and (c) of the Award, while the Respondent objected to item (a) only of the same Award. Neither of the parties raised any objection to items (b) and (d) of the IAP Award. The Applicants application arose from the fact that no specific reference was made in the court's decision in Suit No.NIC/8/78 to the two items of the I. A.P Award, which was not contested by both parties. In the event, the Applicant alleged that the Respondent had refused to implement item (b) of the IAP Award on the pretext that the matter did not form part of the court's judgment. On the other hand, the Respondent contended that it had implemented the judgment of the court in its entirety. HELD: (Granting the Appellant sprayers): 1. On Whether locked-out workers who refused to resume work entitled to wages during period of lock-out - The provision of subsection l(b) of Section 32A of the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Decree No.54 of 1977, which provides that lock-out workers shall be entitled to wages and other applicable remuneration for the period of lock-out, is designed to apply in cases where workers were locked-out by their employers and the lock-out persisted at the instance of the employers. The provision does not apply in a case where locked-out workers refused to resume work when invited by their employers. 2. On Right of locked-out workers to be paid arrears of salaries - Locked-out workers are entitled to be paid their salaries for the period they worked for which they have not been paid. 3 On Right of redundant workers to be paid redundancy benefits - Workers who are declared redundant are entitled to be paid redundancy benefits.