NLC protests proposed fuel price hike, threatens another strike

Nigeria's Labor Congress warned on Monday that its members would go on a nationwide strike without notice if traders raise the price of petrol at the pump without concluding ongoing negotiations.

NLC Chairman Joe Ajaero has urged the Federal Government to halt the fall in the value of the Naira.

The organized labor threat followed hints from oil traders on Sunday that the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, would rise to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming weeks if the dollar continues to trade between N910 and N950 on the parallel market.

Traders said dealers seeking to import PMS were forced to put their plans on hold due to the scarcity of foreign currency to import the merchandise.

The warning came barely a week after the local currency breached the N900/dollar ceiling, with the naira selling at over N945/dollar in the parallel market on Friday.

Oil traders said the official CBN importers and exporters desk for foreign exchange, which boasts a lower exchange rate of around $740/litre, has remained illiquid and unable to provide the 25 to 30 million dollars needed for the importation of PMS by the dealers.

Following the removal of fuel subsidies in May, unions had tried to curb rising prices for goods and services, but the federal government won an injunction from the National Labor Court. work prohibiting them from going on strike.

In an effort to avert a labor strike last month, the FG had obtained, through the Federal Department of Justice, an order from the National Labor Court barring the NLC and the Trades Union Congress to engage in any strike over issues relating to "the removal of fuel subsidies, the rise in gasoline prices and the consequent increase in the cost of living", pending the decision of the pursuit.

The Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Ms. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, in a statement, urged the NLC to withdraw the seven-day notice it issued on his plan to launch a nationwide industrial action from August 2, if the demands of the unions are not met.

The Justice Department sternly warned in a July 26 statement that the union's planned strike would be in contempt of court, an offense punishable by imprisonment.

According to the FG, such an action would amount to a self-help remedy since the case was already pending in court.

But unhappy with the slow process of negotiating with the FG and the delay in deploying palliatives to cushion the pain of subsidy cuts, organized labor declared a nationwide protest despite the injunction of the court.

The protests that took place on August 2 paralyzed economic and business activities across the country, leading to the closure of banks, offices and courts in several states.

As a reward for the union leaders' defiance, the federal government launched contempt proceedings against the union leaders, a development that angered the unions.

However, union leaders and the presidency held a meeting in which the unions were convinced to call off their protests and shelved their strike plans.

But speaking at the ongoing meeting of the African Trade Union Alliance in Abuja on Monday, Ajaero advised the federal government to change "those bad economic policies that are making workers' wages are almost zero".

He said: "As we are here now. They are planning to raise the price at the pump of petroleum products. But the Minister of Labor for a while will only address the Minister of Justice to offer him an injunction to hold the hand of labor so that he does not answer. They began to toss about a probable increase in the price of petroleum products.

"But let me say this: Nigerian workers will not give strike notice unless we address the consequences of the last two fuel price increases at the pump, and we we wake up to hear that they have altered the pump price of fuel again.

"I want to implore the government that these bad economic policies which reduce our wages to zero be checked. If you check these policies which lead to inflation and currency devaluation, we will be at comfortable even where we are. If the naira is at par with the dollar today, we will ask you to leave the minimum wage at 30,000 naira.''

Continuing, the union leader noted: "If inflation is brought down to zero, we will ask you to leave things as they are. But inflation is skyrocketing, and there is Admission by the National Bureau of Statistics, we have over 133 million Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor.