Section 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 8 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 six months;
(b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine of N 1000.
(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.