The National Industrial Court, NIC, in Yenagoa, on Friday struck out the suit filed by Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, ASUSS’, Bayelsa chapter, against the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT.
In the suit, ASUSS is challenging the Bayelsa branch of the NUT for superintending over the affairs of secondary school teachers.
Justice Bashir Attahiru-Alkali, in his ruling, upheld the preliminary objection of the NUT, that ASUSS lacked legal status to institute the action.
The NUT had insisted that ASUSS was not a registered trade union, and lacked the legal capacity to challenge NUT and its activities.
ASUSS had approached the NIC to seek redress and to stop the deduction of union dues from salaries of secondary schools’ teachers by NUT.
It said that it had lost confidence in the ability of the NUT to represent and protect the interests of secondary schools’ teachers in the state.
Counsel to NUT Stanley Damabide, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling, saying official registration was very important for any group to operate as a union, which the ASUSS lacked.
Also speaking, Johnson Hector, the state Secretary of the NUT, called on members of the ASUSS to return to NUT and work together to achieve common goals.
On his part, Bayelsa Chairman of ASUSS, Oyinemi Eberedeni, who expressed dissatisfaction over the ruling, said they would go to a higher court to challenge the NIC’s ruling.
NAN
