The court of appeal, Abuja Division, on Monday, March 23, set aside the judgment of the national industrial court and awarded ₦10 million in costs against the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for unlawful labour practices against 20 aggrieved employees.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel led by Justice Bilkisu Aliyu, with Justices Donatus Okorowa and Oyebisi Omoleye Oyewumi concurring, held that the workers’ appeal was meritorious and ought to be allowed.
In the judgment, the appellate court nullified the June 13, 2023, judgment of the lower court, which had dismissed the workers’ claims in their entirety.
The dispute arose from the plight of the 20 workers, who were issued letters of employment by PenCom and resumed duty on May 2, 2017, but were neither deployed nor assigned roles and were left without remuneration.
After resumption, the workers were directed to tarry for further instructions directives that never materialised for years despite repeated correspondence with the commission.
The appellants informed the court that they had resigned from their previous employment in reliance on PenCom’s offer, only to be left stranded without salaries, responsibilities, or clarity regarding their employment status.
Arguing through their counsel, Samuel Ogala of Falana & Falana Chambers, the workers maintained that PenCom could not frustrate the performance of employment conditions and then benefit from its own inaction.
The three-man panel of justices held that the recruitment process, comprising advertisement, interviews, and issuance of employment letters duly accepted by the appellants, constituted a valid and binding contract.
Consequently, the appellate court stated that admitted facts require no further proof and ruled that a contractual relationship had been established, thereby imposing legal obligations on the respondents.
The appeal court said that the workers’ prolonged ordeal was unjustifiable.
The appeal succeeded; it subsequently held and proceeded to set aside the lower court’s decision.
It further awarded ₦10 million as costs against the respondents, citing the unnecessary and unwarranted rigours of litigation endured by the appellants since filing the suit in 2022.
The workers had, in the originating suit, accused PenCom of unfair labour practices, including non-payment of salaries, denial of promotions, and unlawful restriction from performing their duties.
They sought declarations affirming their status as employees under the Pension Reform Act 2014 and the Public Service Rules, alongside orders compelling payment of all outstanding salaries, allowances, and entitlements.
They also requested protection from alleged harassment and an injunction restraining the commission from further obstructing their employment.
The aggrieved workers had also, in the suit marked NIC/ABJ/188/2022, sought an order of the court directing the commission to pay them forthwith their salaries, arrears, and allowances from the date of their employment until the judgment of the court is complied with by the agency, with the same to be calculated using the agency’s salary structure for its employees.
The claimants had also sought a declaration that, “having regard to the provisions of sections 28 and 29 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, regulations 040102 and 130105 of the Public Service Rules, the failure of the commission to pay them their salaries, arrears, allowances, and promotions from the date of their employment till date is an unfair labour practice, discriminatory, ultra vires, and in violation of the provisions of the PenCom Act and the Public Service Rules.”
They had sought an order of injunction directing the commission to immediately promote them to their rightful positions in the commission based on their employment with the commission.
They also sought another order restraining the commission from further harassing, intimidating, or threatening the employment of the claimants, or restraining the claimants from performing their statutory functions in the commission as staffers of the commission.
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