THE ILLEGALITY OF DEDUCTIONS FROM SOURCE FOR ASSOCIATIONS

The Nigerian state has degenerated so much so that leaders care less about what the led think about their leaderships. This is because they are not accountable to the led. After all, once they get into power, they seize all machinery of state. Nobody can stop them when they can manipulate all arms of government. Dissenting voices are turned into those lonely voices of the Old Testament found shouting in the wilderness. The dissenting voices are the "losers".

This level of impunity trickled gradually down to associations too. Once they could lay their hands on the Accountant General, they deduct the association dues from source of salaries of their members. This is without regard to the laws of Nigeria. The association leaderships do with the funds of their members whatever they wished. After all, they have one or two years to squander and leave the stage. The next persons do same and leave. Everybody wants to go in and embezzle and leave. Hatred, animosity, fight and breakneck schemings for positions reign. The money is ready money. Nobody really accounts for anything. Performance in office does not affect the ready cash. There is no need to perform. After all the money will come in from source of salary.

How legal is all these deductions for associations by the Attorneys General. It is submitted that all these deductions are illegal and actionable. Members of associations who feel that their leaderships are working can only pay their dues by hand and willingly.

The practice is so entrenched by those that deduct and those that receive as they share in the loots. When members of an association pay their dues by hand, nobody needs to tell the leaderships that they must do the right thing. Contest for elective positions become sincere and less acrimonious. That is the beginning of responsible leaderships. We can move from there to the national politics. It is beyond question that the proceeds of these illegal deductions are usually  embezzled and squandered with impunity by those that take delivery.

We can therefore challenge the violation of extant laws in Nigeria by our employers (which is the Civil Service Commission, through its agents and privies). The laws violated include the Labour Act, the Trade Union Act as amended, the Appropriation Laws from 2013 till date, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended etc; and the Contract of Appointment of the petitioner with the Employer, and that of other employees. All the stated laws and documents are operational in this state.

The locus standi to challenge the illegalities is not only because employees are personally affected by the illegal and unauthorized deductions, but because employees can also rely on the clear provisions of the Proceeding Laws, and the decisions of the Supreme Court in the case of Chief Gani Fawehinmi v Federal Government of Nigeria. On both authorities, it behoves on every Nigerian, to protect and defend the validly enacted laws of Nigeria and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended whenever and wherever there is a breech. This assignment to see to it that Nigeria is governed within the ambits of the law is even extended to non-Nigerians living in Nigeria. For the avoidance of doubt, the law is clear about whom an Employer could cause deductions from their salaries for the benefit of their Unions/Associations.

A few of the laws are hereby cited. Sections 2 and 3 of the Trade Union (Amendment) Act Chapter T14 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2005 provides:

2.  “(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, membership of a trade union by employees shall be voluntary and no employee shall be forced to join any trade union or be victimized for refusing to join or remain a member”.
3.  “16 A. Upon the registration and recognition of any the trade unions specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, an employer shall-
(a) Make deduction from the wages of every worker who is a member of any of the trade unions for the purpose of paying contributions to the trade union so registered; and
(b) Remit such deductions to the registered office of the trade union within a reasonable period or such period as may be prescribed from time to time by the Registrar.

Sections 3 and 4 of the Labour Act provides:
(3) Upon the registration and recognition of any of the trade union specified in Part A of Schedule 3 to the Trade Unions Act, the employer shall-
(a) make deductions from the wages of all workers eligible to be members of the union for the purpose of paying contributions to the trade union so recognised; and
(b) pay any sum so deducted to the union,
but a worker may contract out of the system, in writing, and where he has done so, no deductions shall be made from his wages in respect of contributions mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) No deductions shall be made from the wages and salaries of persons who are eligible members of any of the trade unions specified in Part B of the Schedule 3 to the Trade Unions Act except the person concerned has accepted, in writing, to make voluntary contributions to the trade union.

It is thus contended that there is a gross violation of these cited extant laws which operate over both Federal and state civil servants. These associations are not a Trade Unions. They are  mere Associations. Even if they were taken to be a Trade Union, or proposed Trade Union, they are not registered. They are also not REGISTERED AND RECOGNIZED and thus cannot benefit from the statutory privileges reserved for registered Trade Unions. Even the definition of worker in the Labour Act is of no moment considering the provisions of the Chapter T14 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2005.

 To fortify the contentions better still, no prior consent was obtained from the employees prior to the commencement of the deductions. Contrary to what obtains with registered and recognized Trade Unions, the associations have no Registered Address recognised by the Registrar of Trade Unions because they are not registered Trade Unions.

The extension of the statutory privileges afforded registered Trade Unions to any unregistered associations is not only ultra vires the powers of the employer, and void, but also illegal and deserving of award of damages, jointly and severally against all the parties involved in the illegal deductions, to all the affected persons.

The Commission cannot turn itself into a universal ombudsman that collects monthly dues for every Tom, Dick and Harry association, outside of the express stipulations of the regulating statutes. In the case of Eboreime v. Arumeme (1977) LPELR-FCA/B/21/77, the Court of Appeal stated Per NNAEMEKA-AGU, J.C.A., while deciding on the extent of functions of a Statutory Corporation ie the Commission with its agents and privies, stated thus:

"The powers of a corporation created by statute are limited and circumscribed by the statutes which regulate it, and extend no further than is expressly stated therein, or is, necessarily and properly required for carrying into effect the purposes of its incorporation, or may be fairly regarded as incidental to, or consequential upon, those things which the legislature has authorized. What the statute does not expressly or impliedly authorize is to be taken to be prohibited." For this see also: Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co. V. Riche (1875) L.R. 7 H.L. 6531. See also Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants V. Osborne (1910) A.C. 87 H.L."

The Court of Appeal even went further to expand this dictum in the case of Eboreime v. Arumeme supra by stipulating further that:

"Although these cases relate to cases where the corporation exceeded the objects for which they were set up, the same principle, in our view, applies to where they, as in this case, have to exercise powers conferred upon the corporation by statute whether it acted contrary to, or in excess of, or not in accordance with the provisions of the statute. The courts will confine those exercising the powers to the strict letters of the statute which confers such powers to the corporations as the courts have a duty to prevent arbitrary exercise of statutory powers. See Tinkler V. Wandsworth District Board of Works (1858) of 27 L.J. Ch.342"

Section 197 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended established the Civil Service Commission as a statutory Corporation charged with employment into the Civil Service. As an employer, the Commission, together with its agents and privies, is bound to act within the laws that regulate its actions as expressly provided in the Labour Act and the Trade Union Act. The Commission and its privies or any other government employers of labour cannot go beyond the provisions of those statutes as it affects deductions from salaries of the employees of the Commission or its privies. Only the salaries of those consenting employees of the Commission and its privies that are members of registered and recognised Trade Unions can be deducted at the instructions of the Commission and its privies from the source of disbursement upon appropriation. Any other deductions outside the statutory and any judicial mandate is ultra vires, null, void and illegal.

Dr Awkadigwe Fredrick Ikenna
08039555380
awkadigweikenna@gmail.com