The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, 22nd January 2025 lambasted the federal government and telecommunications companies for increasing tariff by 50% amid rising cost of living in the country.
It described the recent hike of telecommunications tariff as an assault on Nigeriansโ welfare, adding that it exemplified the governmentโs apparent preference for prioritising corporate profits over citizensโ welfare.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, told journalists at Labour House, Abuja, that the labour movement was not against the tariff hike considering the galloping inflation in the country but disagreed with the approved rate of increase. Ajaero, who also lampooned members of the National Assembly for not standing with the majority of Nigerians regarding some policies, called for immediate stoppage of the implementation of the hike.
โThe Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the Federal Governmentโs recent approval, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), of a 50% increase in telecommunication tariffs.
โThis decision, coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, is a clear assault on their welfare and an abandonment of the people to corporate fat cats,โ he said.
The labour leader, while calling mass action against the hike, wondered why there was never a dialogue among critical stakeholders before such an increment was announced.
He added, โTelecommunication services are essential for daily communication, work, and access to information. Yet, an average Nigerian worker already spends approximately 10% of their wages on telecom charges.
โFor a worker earning the current minimum wage of โฆ70,000, this means an increase from โฆ7,000 to a staggering โฆ10,500 per month or 15% of his salaryโa cost that is unsustainable.
โThis hike exemplifies the governmentโs apparent ease in prioritizing corporate profits over citizensโ welfare.
โIt is shocking that the government approved this 50% tariff increase for telecom companies within a month, yet took nearly a year to approve the recent minimum wage for workers, despite the rising cost of living and inflation eroding purchasing power.
โThis glaring disparity underscores a troubling reality: the government appears more aligned with the interests of wealthy corporations than with the needs of the workers and citizens it is meant to serve.
โWe must ask: When will the government stand for the people it swore to protect? When will the National Assembly rise to its responsibility and hold the executive accountable for policies that blatantly undermine the welfare of the majority? When will the common man heave a sigh of relief in Nigeria?
โNLC is not opposed to a tariff review but disagrees with the approved rate of increase. We, therefore, call on the government, the NCC and the National Assembly to stop the implementation of this ill-advised hike to allow a reasonable conversation around it.
โIf the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50% hike.โ
Ajaero declared that there could be possibility of a nationwide boycott of telecommunication services, to compel the reversal of what he described as โpunitive increaseโ.
The labour leader added, โThe NLC calls on all Nigerian workers and masses to reject this unjustifiable tariff hike. We urge citizens to prepare for collective action, including the possibility of a nationwide boycott of telecommunications services, to compel the reversal of this punitive increase.
โThis is for our dignity, our rights, and our survival as a people. The Nigeria Labour Congress remains resolute in defending the interests of Nigerian workers and the masses.
โWe will not allow the people to bear the brunt of policies that further entrench poverty and inequality. Together, we will do our best to resist this injustice and demand that government prioritizes the interests of its citizens over corporate interests.โ
