Download PDF
NATIONAL UNION OF HOTELS AND PERSONAL SERVICES WORKERS AND PEOPLES CLUB OF NIGERIA (NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT) HON. JUSTICE M.A. BORISADE PRESIDENT AMBASSADOR M.S. SALEH MEMBER CHIEF M.G DABIBI MEMBER PROF. B.B. KANYIP MEMBER MRS. V.N. OKOBI MEMBER SUIT NO: NIC/1/99 DATE OF RULING JUNE 29, 2001 LABOUR LAW Collective agreement - Meaning of- When in issue - Power of court to interpret same. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT Parties before the National Industrial Court - Misnomer as to name of a party – Power thereof to correct. ISSUES 1. Is “Peoples Club of Nigeria”, the Respondent in this matter, the proper party before the court? 2. Is the “negotiated Collective Agreement”, Exhibit A of the Applicant’s application, an agreement within the meaning of section 47(1) of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap.432, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 so as to come within the purview of section 15 in relation to the court’s power of interpretation? FACTS The Applicant applied to the National Industrial Court for the interpretation of a collective agreement negotiated between it and the Respondent. The Respondent raised a preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the court and the locus standi of the Applicant to file the application. The court duly heard the submissions of counsel for both parties on the preliminary objection. HELD (Dismissing the preliminary objection): 1. On Power of National Industrial Court to amend the name of a party before it - The National Industrial Court has power to amend the name of a party before it, so that the proper party can be before it. Thus, in this case, the name of the Respondent was amended to read “Registered Trustees of Peoples Club of Nigeria”. 2. On Meaning of collective agreement and power of National Industrial Court to interpret same - By virtue of section 47(1) of the Trade Disputes Act, a collective agreement means any agreement in writing for the settlement of disputes relating to employment and physical conditions of work concluded between: “(a) an employer, a group of employers or one or more organizations representative of employers on the one hand; and (b) one or more trade unions or organizations representing workers, or the duly appointed representative or any body of workers, on the other hand”. In the instant case, Exhibit A of the Applicant’s application is an agreement within the meaning of section 47(1) of the Trade Disputes Act. Hence, it comes within the purview of section 15 of the Trade Disputes Act, in relation to the power of the National Industrial Court to interpret any term or provision of a collective agreement in issue.