The Presiding Judge, Kano Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Mahmood Namtari has declared that Kano State Tipper Drivers Association, their servants, privies, agents or anyone acting on its behalf privies cannot act or parade themselves as a Trade Union without being registered as same by the Registrar of Trade Unions in accordance with the Trade Unions Act (as amended).
The Court granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining ADO UMAR (Chairman), DAHIRU(Sola), MUKHTAR, IDRIS and MALAMI (secretary, Ungogo), their servants, privies, agents or anyone acting on its behalf from forcefully issuing tickets to drivers of tippers/trucks at quarry sites in Kano State, interfering in the UNION OF TIPPER AND QUARRY EMPLOYERS OF NIGERIA (KANO STATE CHAPTER) jurisdictional scope or compelling members of the Tipper’s union to join the association and forcefully issue tickets to members of the union as purported members of the association.
Hon. Justice Namtari declared that the Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter) is the lawful body entitled to regulate quarry haulage operations within its jurisdiction and restrained the Incorporated Trustees of Kano State Tipper Drivers Association from performing trade union functions.
Justice Namtari held that only duly registered trade unions are legally empowered to regulate labour activities, issue operational tickets, and collect levies connected with industrial operations within their approved scope.
From facts, the Claimant, Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter) had submitted that it’s a recognized trade union for drivers of tippers and trucks at quarry sites, and that the Kano State Tipper Drivers Association, not being registered under the Trade Unions Act, lacks the legal capacity to act or parade itself as a trade union.
The Union further averred that Kano State Tipper Drivers Association and its executive are usurping the statutory powers, rights, and privileges vested in it by law by engaging in unauthorized issuance of tickets to drivers, imposing levies, compelling drivers to join its association, and interfering with the lawful quarry operations of its members across Kano State.
In defence, the Incorporated Trustees of Kano State Tipper Drivers Association stated that it is merely an association of tipper drivers formed to protect the welfare of its members and denied presenting itself as a trade union or interfering with the statutory functions of the Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter).
The Incorporated Trustees of Kano State Tipper Drivers Association contended that the constitutional right to freedom of association permits its members to organize themselves for welfare purposes and that its activities do not amount to trade union functions as regulated by statute.
Counsel to the Incorporated Trustees of Kano State Tipper Drivers Association contended that the Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter) lacks the authority to restrict independent associations and urged the Court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.
In opposition, counsel to the Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter) posited that statutory provisions regulating trade unions are mandatory and that any association carrying out trade union functions without registration acts unlawfully and outside the law, and urged the court to grant the reliefs.
Delivering judgment after careful evaluation of the submissions of both parties, the Presiding Judge, Justice Mahmood Namtari, held that the statutory scheme of the Trade Unions Act makes registration a compulsory condition precedent for anybody intending to perform trade union functions.
The Court reiterated that the constitutional right to freedom of association does not confer authority to assume statutory powers reserved exclusively for registered trade unions.
Justice Namtari held that the Incorporated Trustees of Kano State Tipper Drivers Association performed unauthorized trade union functions and unlawfully interfered with the statutory responsibilities of the Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (Kano State Chapter).
The Court held that the Kano State Tipper Drivers Association, not being a registered trade union under the Trade Unions Act, cannot lawfully perform acts in furtherance of trade union purposes within the quarry industry in Kano State. Any forceful issuance of tickets, compulsion of drivers, or interference with the Claimant’s statutory jurisdiction constitutes an unlawful encroachment.
