The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced the plan to hold a nationwide protest against the planned 50 per cent hike in the telecom tariff. The protest is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, February 4.
It was learnt that the workers’ union leaders agreed on the protest at the meeting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the NLC on Wednesday, January 29.
According to Vanguard, the protest was to send a note of warning to the government that Nigerian workers would not welcome the planned hike, citing the high level of poverty across the country.
NLC rejected 50% tariff hike on telecom
Recall that earlier in January, the NLC rejected the 50 per cent tariff hike in telecommunication that the federal government approved through the Nigerians Communications Commission (NCC).
The labour union maintained that the 50 per cent tariff hike was approved when its members and the Nigerian masses were fighting unprecedented economic hardship and that the approval was a clear assault and an abandonment of the people’s concerns.
The NLC in a statement titled “50% Telecom tariff hike: Another burden too harsh!” and signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, said the development was condemned.
How telecom tariff hike will affect Nigerians
According to the NLC, the services in the telecom sector are essential to human daily communication, access to information and work. the union lamented that average Nigerian workers already spent an approximately 10 per cent of their daily wages on the telecom charges.
The statement reads in part:
“For a worker earning the current minimum wage of N70,000, this means an increase from N7,000 to a staggering N10,500 per month or 15 per cent of his salary, an unsustainable cost.”
Why NLC has been fighting Tinubu
The NLC had been at loggerheads with the federal government soon after the resumption of President Bola Tinubu into office, who on his first day announced the removal of the fuel subsidy and the sucsiquent floating of the naira.
The two economic policies of President Tinubu have led to sudden increases in the cost of basic amenities and food. The government on its part increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000
NLC kicked against Tinubu’s policy on power
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu’s minister of power has been accused of implementing a policy with the “highest form of 419”.
The union leader maintained that the policy was discriminatory and it was concocted to make money unnecessarily.