Court orders Nigeria unions to suspend fuel strike
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ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters) -- A Nigerian court ordered the country's main trade union on Tuesday to suspend a general strike called for Wednesday to protest at rising fuel prices in the world's seventh largest oil exporter.
The Court of Appeal in the capital Abuja also ordered the government to stop collecting a 1.50 naira (one U.S. cent) petrol sales tax which is at the heart of the industrial dispute in the top African oil producer.
But in a quick reaction, the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it would not call off the shut-down until the government complied with the order, which expires next Monday.
"I hereby order the NLC to suspend the strike, while the federal government should stop the collection of 1.50 naira fuel sales tax," presiding Justice Isah Salami ruled.
"The order lasts till January 26 unless further expanded."
"For now we are not calling off the strike, unless the federal government complies with the order," NLC president Adams Oshiomhole said. "Once they comply we will set the machinery in motion and comply. We are satisfied with the pronouncement of the court today."
The government had sought a last-minute court injunction after a lower court gave the unions the green light last week to shut down.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
