NLC Threatens To Embark On Indefinite Strike If Petrol Price Rises Further

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to declare a nationwide strike if there is a further hike in the pump price of petrol from the existing N617 naira.

Recall that oil marketers had indicated that the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, would rise to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming weeks should the dollar continue to trade from N910 to N950 at the parallel market.

The marketers added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Importers and Exporters’ official window for foreign exchange had remained illiquid and unable to provide the $25m to $30m required for the importation of PMS by dealers.

They also hinted that its members seeking to import petrol were being forced to put the plans on hold due to the scarcity of foreign exchange to import the commodity.

Speaking at the African Trade Union Alliance meeting in Abuja on Monday, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the union would proceed with a total, comprehensive and indefinite nationwide shutdown of the country.

Ajaero also warned the federal government against undermining the demands of the union and the plan to provide palliatives to Nigerians and workers.

He stated that Nigerians had suffered enough from the policies of the government and will not take kindly any increase in petroleum pump prices that would worsen the situation.

He said: “I commend the Director of Trade Union Services for his labour-friendly disposition and for finding out time to be here. We need to commend you. But I was feeling uncomfortable when you had legions of advice for the Labour movement. In actual fact, the centrality of your office is to advise the government on some of these issues.

“Maybe I will advise that we engage you as adviser of labour, adviser of trade union services since you appear to be closer to us than the Nigerian state who you are employed to serve, that we should concern ourselves with issues of wages, issues of employment relations but you didn’t say anything about those issues that depreciate our wage, those policies of the government that reduce our wages to nothing.

“For you, those are the exclusive preserve of the Nigerian state to take decisions probably to increase the pump price of petroleum product, and our wages will be next to nothing. You didn’t speak on it and maybe we should concern ourselves with those issues.

“But I want to plead with you that those bad economic policies by the state that make our wages next to nothing should be checked. If you check those policies that lead to inflation and the devaluation of the currency, even where we are, we will be comfortable.

“If the naira is at par with the dollar today, we will ask you to leave the minimum wage at N30,000, it will make sense. If inflation is checked to zero, we will ask you to leave it where we are, but if inflation is flying, if even by the admittance of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, we have over 130 million Nigerians that are multi-dimensionally poor. I think you should address those issues.

“If we go for even wage increase tomorrow, the inflation that will come up will destroy it.

“As we are here now, they are contemplating increasing the pump price of petrol and the Ministry of Labour for sometime now, will only go to the Ministry of Justice to come up with a so-called injunction to hold the hands of Labour not to respond.

“I didn’t want to say some of those things you will not be comfortable with because probably if they ask you to represent them tomorrow, you will not be around.

“But let me say this, Nigerian workers will not give any notice if we have not addressed the consequences of the last two increases and we wake up from our sleep to hear that they have tampered with the prices again. They have started floating ideas of a likely increase in the pump price of petrol.”