SUMAL FOOD LIMITED VS ABBEY TROTSKY. Court adjournment for Out of Court Settlement
*MATTER AGAINST ABBEY TROTSKY BY OVER 20 SUMAL-BASED OUTSOURCING COMPANIES ADJOURNED BY INDUSTRIAL COURT FOR REPORT OF OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT*
*EARLIER TWO WEEKS AGO COURT GAVE NOD TO THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN A SIMILAR MATTER INSTITUTED BY SUMAL FOOD COLLABORATION WITH FOOD UNION*
*CDWR Remains Committed to the Campaign against Casualization and Indecent Labour Practices in Workplaces*
The civil matter instituted against Comrade Abiodun Bamigboye, popularly known as Abbey Trotsky, by over 20 outsourcing companies which work with SUMAL FOOD LIMITED for the recruitment of its casual workers came up today, Thursday, 20th July, 2022 at Court 2 of the National Industrial Court, INC, Ibadan. This was exactly two weeks after an out of court settlement was concluded on a similar civil matter instituted against Abbey Trotsky at Court 1 of the same NIC by SUMAL FOOD LIMITED in collaboration with the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE).
It will be recalled that aside the two civil matters at the NIC against Comrade Abbey Trotsky, who is the Oyo state coordinator of the Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) and Acting National Chairperson Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, is also a pending trumped up criminal charges at the Magistrate Court, Iyaganku, Ibadan instituted by Nigerian Police Zone 11, Oshogbo under retired DIG Leye Oyebade at the behest of SUMAL FOOD LIMITED
Abbey Trotsky was first arraigned on 7 June 2019, at Magistrate Court 9, Iyaganku and the matter was later transferred to Court 6. This was after he suffered over three weeks of repeated harassment which include arrests and detentions by the police and State Secret Service now known as the DSS. Take, for instance, that between 19 December 2018 and 9 June 2019, Comrade Abbey Trotsky was arrested 8 times by the police and secret service while he was forced to report weekly at the office of the AIG Zone 11 in Osogbo, Osun State, between 28 May and 7 June, 2019.
The background to this string of persecution was the support and solidarity given by members of the Oyo State Chapter of CDWR led by Abbey Trotsky to the protest and strike embarked upon by contract/casual workers of Sumal Food Limited on 2nd and 3rd October 2018.
The matter at the INC today was originally scheduled for the report of settlement but could not go on following a request for an adjournment by the counsel representing the outsourcing companies.
CDWR expresses its appreciation to the Citipoint Chambers, and Barrister Femi Aborisade who led the defence team which included Barrister Rasheedat Adeshina and Barrister Chioma of the Citipoint. We equally appreciate the international solidarity from different sections of the Committee for a Workers’ international, CWI, as well as the political and financial supports from collaborators and trade union organizations.
We shall continue to count on your collaboration and solidarity in the struggle against injustice and casualization including all forms of slavery condition in workplaces across the state and country at large. And, we call on leaderships of trade unions to always rise up to their responsibility of defending the interest and rights of workers and the oppressed masses.
Comrade Israel Raymond for the CDWR, Oyo State Chapter
E-mail: [email protected]