“Fix refineries, roads…” No quick reliefs in NLC conditions to halt strike

The two major labour unions, Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, on Monday halted the strike they planned to begin on Wednesday in protest of the federal government’s removal of petrol subsidy.

The unions will hold talks with the federal government instead, a reversal that is certainly a win for the new Tinubu administration.

The subsidy removal, although long expected, has seen petrol prices and transportation costs triple in one week. A litre of petrol now sells at about N537 in Abuja, from N185. It is the single widest margin of increase in 30 years.

The increase in prices has left many Nigerians struggling to buy food and other items and unable to go to work. Some offices have given their staff the permission to work remotely, Pluboard learnt. The Kwara state government says civil servants should work for three days instead of five to ease the burden.

On Monday, food traders told Pluboard in Abuja it had become very expensive to move goods around. One said she paid a tricycle (Keke) N1500 to convey her goods through a distance she previously paid between N500 and N700.

Another trader who travels between Suleja and Kubwa to sell dried catfish, said she had been unable to travel daily because of high cost of transportation. “I didn’t come here on Saturday because of that. Normally we pay N400 or N500, but now coming alone is N1000,” she said.

In announcing the strike last week, the NLC said the government’s decision to increase the price of petrol while talks were ongoing amounted to an “ambush”. It demanded reversal to the old price before talks would continue.

The labour unions met with the federal government and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday, and agreed to shelve the strike for talks to continue.

For Nigerians who hoped on the proposed industrial action to bring pressure on the government to change course or minimize public suffering, the terms of the agreement between the NLC, TUC and the government, upon which the strike was halted, do not appear capable of bringing quick reliefs.

The terms seen by Pluboard were endorsed by Festus Osifo president, TUC; Joseph Ajaero, president, NLC; Nuhu Toro, Secretary General, TUC; Emmanuel Ugboaja, general secretary, NLC; Kachollom Daju, permanent secretary Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Mr Gbajabiamila.

– No quick wins for Nigerians

To start, the two sides will only meet again in two weeks – June 19. That’s a long time for any expectation of a swift relief. The real terms offer even greater concerns.

• The first plan is for the two sides to set up a joint committee to review the “proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation”. This offers no assurance of wage increase, and even if it did, it would take a while for it to be implemented.
• The teams will review the World Bank-financed “cash transfer scheme and propose inclusion of low-income earners” in the programme. The Buhari administration just before leaving asked the Senate to approve a $800 million loan from the World Bank to be shared to some of the nation’s poorest as cushion against the impact of subsidy removal. The government said in April that it would target 50 million people, which could translate to about N7300 apiece at the official exchange rate. Getting this payment sorted, if it happens at all, will also take time. The worth of the payment may not also bring sustained relief.
• The joint committee will also “revive the CNG Conversion program earlier agreed with Labor centres in 2021 and work out detailed implementation and timing.” This is about the so-called conversion of conventional petrol cars to ones that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), said to be more affordable. The past government considered this but not much was achieved. It is certainly not a quick programme.
• The team will “review issues hindering effective delivery in the education sector and propose solutions for implementation.” This offers no specific measure, and certainly not one to bring a quick relief to citizens paying big to move around and buy food.
• The federal government is to “provide a framework for the maintenance of roads and the expansion of rail networks across the country.” This is the same as the above, without any specificity, actual relevance and speed in bringing respite.
• Both sides will “review and establish the framework for the completion of the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries.” The story of fixing the refineries can certainly not be a quick one. President Buhari promised and failed to repair the refineries for eight years. The 210 b/d Port Harcourt, 125,000b/d Warri and the 110,000 b/d Kaduna plants are still not functional after $3 billion investments to get them back.

The first phase of the Port Harcourt rehabilitation project missed its scheduled completion date in April and may not be finished for another four months at least, according to the UK-based Ergus Media, quoting an oil ministry source.

The September date may be ambitious still, the organization, which provides price information, market data and business intelligence for the global energy industry, reported.

A quick-fix programme at the Warri refinery, scheduled to finish by November, could be completed first. That’s still some long walk.