Nigeria

"11. Members of armed forces, police, etc., prohibited from forming or joining trade
union
(I) This section applies in relation to the following establishments, that is to say-
[1989 No. 25.]
(a) the Nigerian Army, Navy or Air Force;
(b) the Nigeria Police Force;
(c) the Customs Services, the Immigration Services and the Prison Services;
(d) the Customs Preventive Service;
(e) the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited;
f) the Central Bank of Nigeria;
(g) the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited;
(h) every Federal or State government establishment the employees of which are
authorised to bear arms; and
(i) such other establishments as the Minister may, from time to time, by order
specify.
(2) It shall not be lawful for persons employed in any of the establishments to which
subsection (I) of this section relates to combine, organise themselves, or to be members
of a trade union, for purposes of employment, but nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the selling up of joint consultative committees in the establishments
concerned.
(3) As from the date of commencement of this Act, every trade union, which was in
existence or which would have continued to be in existence as from that date but for the
provisions of this Act, shall cease to exist and the certificate of registration of such trade
union shall, within thirty days of the coming into operation of this Act, be surrendered by
the trade union to the Registrar, who shall take such steps in relation to the distribution of
the assets of the trade union as he deems necessary or in accordance with its rules."

"49. Application of Act to workers employed by or under the State other than
armed forces, police, etc.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Act shall apply to workers employed
by or under the Government of the Federation or a State as it applies to persons employed
by a private person.
(2) This Act shall not apply to-
(a) any member of the Nigerian Army, Navy or Air Force;
(b) any member of the Nigeria Police Force;
(c) any officer of whatever rank appointed to carry out duties within the meaning
of the Customs and Excise Management Act, the Immigration Act and the
Prisons Act;
[Cap. C45. Cap. I). Cap. P29.]
(d) any member of the Customs Preventive Service;
(e) any member of any other service of the Federal or State Government authorised to bear
arms, "

The Trade Union Disputes Act does not apply to any official appointed to perform duties under the Customs and Inland Revenue Management Act, the Immigration Act and the Prison Act or to any member of the Customs Prevention Service (Section 49 of the Trade Union Disputes Act). To date, no collective bargaining framework covering these workers has been identified.

Section 30 of the Principal Act is amended by:
(a) Substituting for phrase, “but shall not do so unless”, the phrase “whether or not members of the trade union
wishing to join the registered federation of trade unions are employed in trades, occupations or industries
which are similar to the trades, occupations or industries of the trade unions which formed the registered
federation which the trade union seeks to join; provided;”
(b) deleting subsection 1 (a)
(c) renumbering subsections 1 (b), 1 (c), and 1 (d) as subsections 1(a), 1(b) and (c)
(d) inserting immediately after the existing subsection (5), new subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9):
(6) No person, trade union or employer shall take part in a strike or lock out or engage in any conduct in
contemplation or furtherance of a strike or lock out unless:
(a) The person, trade union or employer is not engaged in the provision of essential services;
(b) The strike or lock out concerns a labour dispute that constitutes a dispute or right.
(c) The strike or lock out concerns a dispute arising from a collective and fundamental breach of
contract of employment or collective agreement on the part of the employee, trade union or
employer,
(d) The provisions for arbitration in the Trade Disputes Act Cap. 432, Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria, 1990 have first been complied with; and
(e) In the case of an employee or a trade union, a ballot has been conducted in accordance with
the rules and constitution of the trade union at which a simple majority of all registered
members voted to go on strike.

FIRST SCHEDULE
[Section 48.]
Essential services
1. The public service of the Federation or of a State which shall for the purpose of this Act
include service in a civil capacity, of persons employed in the armed forces of the Federation
or any part thereof, and also, of persons employed in an industry or undertaking (corporate or
incorporate) which deals or is connected with the manufacture or production of materials for
use in the armed forces of the Federation or any part thereof.
2. Any service established, provided or maintained by the Government of the Federation or a
State, by a local government council, or any municipal or statutory authority, or by private
enterprise-
(a) for, or in connection with, the supply of electricity, power or water, or of fuel
of any kind;
(b) for, or in connection with, sound broadcasting or postal, telegraphic, cable,
wireless or telephonic communications;
(c) for maintaining ports, harbours, docks or aerodromes, or for, or in connection
with, transportation of persons, goods or livestock by road, rail, sea, river or
air;
(d) for, or in connection with, the burial of the dead, hospitals, the treatment of the
sick, the prevention of disease, or any of the following public health matters,
namely sanitation, road-cleansing and the disposal of night-soil and rubbish;
(e) for dealing with outbreaks of fire.
3. Service in any capacity in any of the following organisations-
(a) the Central Bank of Nigeria;
(b) the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company Limited;
(c) any body corporate licensed to carryon banking business under the Banks and
other Financial Institutions Act.

Section 30 of the Principal Act is amended by:
......
(7) Any person, trade union or employer who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits
an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000 or six months imprisonment or to both the
fine and imprisonment.

Trade Disputes Act
18. Prohibition of lock-outs and strikes before issue of award of National Industrial
Court
(1) An employer shall not declare or take part in a lock-out and a worker shall not
take part in a strike in connection with any trade dispute where-
(a) the procedure specified in section 4 or 6 of this Act has not been complied with
in relation to the dispute; or
(b) a conciliator has been appointed under section 8 of this Act for the purpose of
effecting a settlement of the dispute; or
(c) the dispute has been referred for settlement to the Industrial Arbitration Panel
under section 9 of this Act; or
(d) an award by an arbitration tribunal has become binding under section 13 (3) of
this Act; or
(e) the dispute has subsequently been referred to the National Industrial Court
under section 14 (1) or 17 of this Act; or
(f) the National Industrial Court has issued an award on the reference.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an
offence and be liable on conviction-
(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of N100 or to imprisonment for a term of
six months;
( b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine of N1 ,000.
(3) It is hereby declared that where a dispute is settled under the foregoing provisions
of this Act either by agreement or by the acceptance of an award made by an arbitration
tribunal under section 13 of this Act, that dispute shall be deemed for the purposes of this
Act to have ended; and accordingly any further trade dispute involving the same matters
(including a trade dispute as to the interpretation of an award made as aforesaid by which
the original dispute was settled) shall be treated for the purposes of this section as a different
trade dispute. "