July 2015
OVERVIEW
By virtue of the provisions of Section 254C(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (“the Constitution”)[1], the National Industrial Court (the “Court” or “NIC”) is conferred with jurisdiction to adjudicate on disputes relating to or connected with unfair labour practices or international best practices in the Nigerian Labour industry. Thus, an employee who considers the internal policies/practices in his place of employment inimical to his interests, such as to amount to unfair labour practices, can validly resort to the Court to determine the fairness or otherwise of such policies/practices. This would, therefore, appear to expose employers to a floodgate of cases.
[1] As amended by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Third Alteration) Act, 2010