NLC, Northern coalition reject 50% telecoms tariff hike
• Labour prepares for nationwide action, says workers will spend 15% of salary on new tariff
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on Nigerian workers and the masses to reject the 50 per cent “unjustifiable” increase in telecommunications tariffs by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The congress equally urged citizens to prepare for collective action, including the possibility of a nationwide boycott of telecommunication services, to compel the reversal of the alleged punitive increase.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in a statement yesterday, lamented that the hike was coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses were grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, pointing out that it was a clear assault on the masses’ welfare and an abandonment of the people.
He said while the NLC was not opposed to a tariff review, it disagreed with the approved rate of increase.
He called on the government, the NCC and the National Assembly to stop the implementation of the “ill-advised hike to allow a reasonable conversation around it. If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we can all seek a more humane increase and not this 50 per cent hike.”
Ajaero said: “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.
“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?
“The Nigeria Labour Congress remains resolute in defending the interests of Nigerian workers and the masses. We 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 prioritises the interests of its citizens over corporate interests,” he said.
ALSO, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), yesterday, rejected the recent 50 per cent hike, describing it as an assault on the already strained livelihoods of Nigerians.
The coalition emphasised that the tariff increase, introduced amidst widespread economic hardship, marked by hyperinflation, unemployment and poverty demonstrated a lack of consideration for the plight of the average Nigerian.
In a statement, the National Coordinator of CNG, Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, condemned the decision, calling it an act of insensitivity and economic injustice.
The coalition called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to resist the tariff hike and demand its reversal.
Charanchi said: “The CNG totally and unequivocally rejects the recent astronomical 50 per cent increase in telecommunications tariffs in the country as sanctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).”
The CNG vowed to take all necessary legal steps to protect the rights and welfare of Nigerians.
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