The Nigeria Labour Congress is calling on Nigerians to get ready for a nationwide boycott of telecommunication services in protest against the Federal Government’s recent decision to approve a 50% increase in telecom tariffs.
The NLC president, Joe Ajaero in statement on Wednesday, condemned the exorbitant tariff hike proposed by the Nigerian telecommunication providers in which the federal government have succumbed to.
Ajaero described it as unjust burden on citizens already grappling with economic challenges and urged Nigerians to get ready for a nationwide boycott. The Union also criticizing the timing of the hike, said it came at a very wrong timing as it coincides with rising inflation and declining purchasing power in the country.
Acknowledging the relevance of telecommunication in this era, the NLC president underscored that telecommunication services have become a basic necessity, with the average Nigerian worker spending approximately 10% of their income on telecom charges.
He said, “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 union also expresses their dissatisfaction on the part of the government who fast-tracked the tariff approval within a month but took approximately a year to implement the recently revised minimum wage. The further argued that the haste in the approval of the new telecom tariff hike depicts the government’s bias towards corporate interests over the 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?”
The NLC president urge Nigerians to oppose the hike and prepare for a nationwide action that would compel them to have a revisal on the adjustment, adding that it could be as far as a total boycott of the service across the country.
He reiterated the Union’s unwavering commitment to fighting for the collective interest of the Nigerian masses. ‘The Nigeria Labour Congress remains resolute in defending the interests of Nigerian workers and the masses” he said. ‘We will not allow the people to bear the brunt of policies that further entrench poverty and inequality”, the president added.
