From Godwin Tsa Abuja
Five staff of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) have asked the National Industrial Court to set aside the purported termination of their employment with the commission.
The claimants in the suit marked NICN /ABJ/173/2024, are specifically challenging the validity of the letter dated February 27, 2024, purportedly terminating their contract of employment.
It is the contention of the claimants, Sunday Nyam Bot; Pam Yakubu Chung; Dablet Nnadom Appollos; Pam Yakubu Chadikison and Dung Chung Bok, that the term “withdrawal of appointment” as contained in the said letter of February 27, 2024, is not known to labour law and does not connote termination of appointment.
In the suit dated July 26, 2024 and filed by counsel to the Claimants, Osuagwu Ugochukwu, are seeking an order setting aside the letter dated February 27, 2024, as the term “withdrawal of appointment is not known to any law or labour law in force in Nigeria.
They are further seeking an order of court that their employment as contained in the letter dated October 16, 2023,still subsists till October 3, 2025, as their employments have not been validly terminated.
A declaration that the letter dated February 27, 2024, has not validly terminated their appointments without complying with the term stated on the letter of appointment dated October 16, 2023.
They stated in their supporting affidavit that paragraph 2(vii) of appointment letter dated October 16, 2023, provides thus, “That your appointment shall be subject to one month notice on your part and on the part of the commission or one month salary in lieu of notice”.
They averred that “we never got any letter of termination notice of one month nor did we receive any one month salary in lieu from the defendant.”
Thirteen staff of the commission were sacked by the new executive secretary of Christian pilgrims board.
They now sued the Board for unlawful sack . But while the case was on, the executive secretary without waiting for Court to decide the matter fixed for October 17 re-absorbed the rest of the sacked staff leaving out the current five staff who sued the pilgrims Board