The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the federal government for approving a 50 percent increase in telecommunication tariffs.
On Monday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
granted approval to telecommunications companies (telcos) to implement a 50
percent tariff increase.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Joe Ajaero, president of
the NLC, called the decision a “clear assault” on Nigerian workers’ welfare.
“This 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,” the statement reads.
“Telecommunication services are essential for daily
communication, work, and access to information.
“Yet, an average Nigerian worker already spends
approximately 10 percent of their wages on telecom charges.
“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
percent of his salary—a cost that is unsustainable.
“This hike exemplifies the government’s apparent ease in
prioritising corporate profits over citizens’ welfare.
“It is shocking that the government approved this 50 percent
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.
“This 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.
“We 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?”
‘NLC IS NOT OPPOSED TO TARIFF REVIEW’
Ajaero clarified that the labour body is not opposed to
tariff reviews but is not in support of 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,” he said.
“If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we
can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50 percent hike.
“The NLC calls on all Nigerian workers and masses to reject
this unjustifiable tariff hike.”
He called on citizens to prepare for collective action,
including a possible nationwide boycott of telecommunication services.
Ajaero said the initiative would push for the reversal of
the tariff increase, describing it as essential for “our dignity, our rights,
and our survival” as a people.
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