Workers in the informal sector, under the aegis of the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisations of Nigeria (FIWON), have thrown their weights behind the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) demand for an urgent wage review to reflect the current realities.

The group, after an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where they deliberated on the state of the nation, said the warning strike was necessary for the government to urgently address the economic hardship in the country, even as they equally demanded immediate social protection packages for workers in their sector.

General Secretary, FIWON, Gbenga Komolafe, demanded that there should be a rapid and immediate introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to facilitate CNG-powered vehicles, as an alternative to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which is still been imported and has become unaffordable.

Among other demands, Komolafe called for the immediate implementation of free health coverage for children under five years old, pregnant women and elders, who are 60 years and above.

As it is, he said these categories of Nigerians are excluded from the basic health plans of most Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs).

According to him, it is ridiculous that the most vulnerable are being excluded from basic health coverage.

He said a review of the Micro Pensions Plan (MPP) for the informal sector was paramount, to ensure government’s part funding of informal workers pension contributions.

This, according to him, would in the long run, protect informal workers in old age.

The group demanded the immediate introduction of social pensions to the most vulnerable, especially old people, the infirm and the long-term unemployed.

“It is our conviction that only a minimal social protection package as above can help resolve the pervasive crisis of social insecurity, growing social anomie and desperation among the downtrodden mass of working people in the informal sector.

“We demand the immediate reversal on the introduction of school fees in public schools, colleges and universities, as children of the working poor are already dropping out of schools in the wake of recent spikes in school fees,” he said.

Komolafe stated that the desperate situation informal workers found themselves in and the challenges the Nigerian working people have been faced with since the outbreak of COVID-19, the chaotic and destructive lockdowns and supposed mitigation actions of the government, have been pathetic.

He said that the extreme attacks on the livelihoods of working people in the informal economy, without concomitant necessary palliatives led to widespread desperation that resulted in the #EndSARS protests, which exposed the wanton greed of ruling elites, even as warehouses were attacked and thousands of tonnes of food items meant as palliative to help people during the lockdowns, were accessed and found to be already going bad while people were dying of hunger.

He alleged that the $3.4 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to the Federal Government to assist economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19 in 2020, remained largely unaccounted for to date, also alleging that the money and other sundry donations by local and international donors were managed under spurious schemes and programmes marked with high-level opacity and total lack of accountability.

According to him, subsequent government programmes and actions since 2020 have aggravated gross income inequality, attacked productive activities, especially in the informal economy, particularly the policies of currency redesign, fuel price hike and gross devaluation of the naira, announced and implemented by the government in this year.