Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Uber, Bolt drivers moving ahead with strike despite NLC backoff

The group says it planned its strike even before the NLC announced its own. A strike by the union will cause more Nigerians hardship.

Ride-hailing drivers in Nigeria say they will press on with their planned strike on Wednesday to protest high fuel prices despite the Nigeria Labour Congress’ withdrawal from the strike.

Bolt and Uber drivers say they are amongst some of the worst hit by the federal government’s policy of removing petrol subsidy because the two app companies have refused to increase fares to cover the money that buy fuel with.

The group initially said it would join the strike announced by the NLC, the largest body of private and public sector workers in Nigeria. After the NLC and its partner organization, Trade Union Congress, said on Monday that they had suspended the strike for more talks with the federal government, the apps-based drivers said they will go on with theirs.

“The NLC has called off their own strike, but that one does not stop our own strike, for certain reasons,” Ayoade Ibrahim, secretary of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria told Pluboard on Tuesday.

“We are an informal sector union that is not depending on minimum wages that NLC or TUC may negotiate for the workers in the formal sectors.”

– Why this matters

If ride-hailing drivers refuse to work from Wednesday, more Nigerians will face hardship commuting to their offices and moving around to do their businesses.

– Going forward

Nigerians have faced increased hardship in the last one week after President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inauguration on May 29.

State-owned NNPC Ltd followed up with the introduction of new prices for petrol across the country, raising rates from below N200 to N557.

The NLC said it would form a joint committee with the government to assess calls for wage increase for workers, repair of refineries and roads. But the measures are not likely to bring immediate relief to Nigerians who are paying for fuel, food and transportation at triple the rates they paid before the removal of subsidy.

Last week, Bolt and Uber drivers asked their companies to raise fares by 200% to enable them pay for fuel. They also requested a 50% reduction in commission and wanted the lowest fare to be N2000.

Bolt increased its base fare from N650 to N800 on Friday, a review the drivers have rejected.

“We have been trying to let app companies realize that there is a need for them to recognise AUATWON for dialogue and negotiation. If you watch what they did, they have been increasing the transport fare more than three times, which means they don’t even understand how to fix the price in terms of this fuel price increase (to cover the increased prices of fuel),” Mr Ibrahim told us Tuesday.

“What we are saying is that this time around, we will not allow only the app companies to take the decision, they have to take our input also because we are the ones that face the problem on the road.

“Someone that stays in the office cannot just sit and fix a price for someone that is on the road every day.”

He said the group had planned its strike even before the NLC announced its own.

“So they should call and negotiate with us because the NLC negotiation with the government does not reflect in our industry because of some peculiar conditions and areas of operation,” Mr Ibrahim said.


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