The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the Federal Government’s approval of tariff hike for telecommunication services in the country.
The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) had earlier in the week gave the telecommunication companies to raise the tariff for their services by 50 percent.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC urged Nigerians to prepare for a nationwide boycott of telecommunication services following the federal government’s approval of the tariff hike.
The union described the tariff hike as an unjust burden on citizens already grappling with economic challenges.
It also faulted the timing of the hike as it coincides with rising inflation and declining purchasing power of the citizens.
The statement read: “The Nigeria Labour Congress expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the Federal Government’s recent approval, through the Nigerian Communications Commission, of a 50% increase in telecommunication tariffs.
“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.
“Telecommunication 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.
“For a worker earning the current minimum wage of ₦70,000, this means an increase from ₦7,000 to a staggering ₦10,500 per month or 15% of his salary — a cost that is unsustainable.”
The NLC also criticised the government for approving the tariff hike within a month and taking nearly a year to implement the new minimum wage.
“This hike exemplifies the government’s apparent ease in prioritising corporate profits over citizens’ welfare.
“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 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.
“If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50% hike,” the statement added.