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The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has thrown its weight behind concerns raised by the Nigeria Labour Congress over further increases in electricity tariff and tolls on selected highways as well as the planned telecom tariff hike.
President of TUC, Festus Osifo who said this at a News conference in Abuja shortly after a meeting of the National Administrative Council of the Trade Union Congress in Abuja on Thursday, is also urging the government to urgently address the challenges associated with the high Exchange rate, which continues to devalue the Naira in the Foreign Exchange market.
Osifo used the conference to ask the government to always listen to the concerns raised by Labour and address them accordingly to avoid industrial unrest.
A meeting between the Federal Government and NLC on Monday, February 3, 2025, produced a Memorandum of Agreement which forced the Labour centre to halt for 2 weeks, its planned nationwide protest over the proposed 50% telecom tariff hike.
The planned telecom hikes are; from N12 to N18 per minute call, N4 to N6 per SMS and N300 to N400 per gigabyte of data, while the government is planning a 66% electricity tariff hike.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting partly read: “NAC deliberated on the proposed introduction of toll gates on selected federal roads and strongly condemned it in its entirety. While we acknowledge that tolling is a globally recognized method of generating revenue for road maintenance, it is unacceptable to impose tolls on roads that are unpaved, dilapidated, and riddled with potholes.
“The NAC views this as an insult to Nigerians, who are being asked to pay tolls on roads that are in total disrepair. Our highways are death traps unsafe, abandoned, and filled with potholes. Rather than fulfilling its responsibility to fix and maintain these roads, the government is resorting to shameless extortion.
“The Congress, therefore, demands that all roads earmarked for tolling must first be fixed, properly tarred, and repaired to international standards before any discussion on tolling can be entertained.”
Although the Federal Government recently debunked plans to increase electricity tariff by 65 per cent, TUC said it was alarming that the government even considered the hike in the first instance.
Osifo lamented that the previous increment already inflicted severe hardship on citizens.
He said, “This proposed increase is not only ill-timed but also a deliberate act of economic oppression against Nigerians, who are already struggling under unbearable economic conditions.
“The improved service quality promised during the last tariff hike, particularly for consumers under the so-called “Band A” category, has not been realized. Most consumers, regardless of their tariff band, continue to live in perpetual darkness.”
TUC observed that the root cause of escalating prices and galloping inflation was the devaluation of the Naira.
Going down memory lane, Osifo said in February 2024, the TUC addressed a world press conference, where it clearly stated that the excessive devaluation of the naira was the primary cause of rising inflation and the continuous increase in the prices of goods and services.
He said the congress also warned that this trend would worsen inflation in 2024, impacting virtually every sector of the economy and severely affecting the social and economic well-being of Nigerian workers and the masses if the solutions it canvassed were not adopted.
The TUC president said twelve months later, the congress position remained unchanged, alleging that the symptoms of the root cause have manifested clearly.
He warned that if the policies were not reviewed to favour the citizens, the TUC may be compelled to mobilise for mass protest.
“The NAC, on behalf of the Congress, strongly advises the government to refrain from introducing policies that would further exacerbate the current economic hardship faced by hardworking Nigerians.
“If the administration insists on implementing these policies, the TUC will have no choice but to mobilize the working class, civil society, and the oppressed masses for a nationwide action. This level of exploitation is unacceptable. A stitch in time saves nine,” he warned.
