NLC announces date for nationwide strike over subsidy removal

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it will begin a nationwide strike on August 2 over the federal government’s failure to provide reliefs to citizens after the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The congress said it is difficult to fold its arms while Nigerians continue to suffer the impacts of subsidy removal.

The union said a committee set up by the government in June to negotiate with the organized labour and agree on aid failed to “carry it along” weeks after.

A communique released at the end of its central working committee meeting on Tuesday says the federal government has seven days to reverse its policies. The statement was signed by Joe Ajaero, the president, and Emmanuel Ugboaja, secretary.

The NLC said the federal government has shown enormous disdain and contempt for the Nigerian people and have declared a war of attrition on citizens.

The NLC demanded “the immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the federal government including the recent hike in PMS price, increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salary of university lecturers and workers and increase in VAT.”

“Since the committee was set up to work out the palliatives for workers and Nigerians, the committee hasn’t met. The government only set up the committee to give the impression that it was serious about doing something to ameliorate the pain of Nigerians,” Chris Onyeka, a spokesperson for the NLC was quoted by BusinessDay as saying.

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President Bola Tinubu announced an end to petrol subsidy in his inaugural speech on May 29. Since then, the price of petrol has jumped more than 300% to N617.

The change in price has sent shock waves across economic ends in the country with commodity and service prices more than doubling.

In June, consumer prices reached their highest monthly rise in seven years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the monthly inflation jumped to 22.8% from May’s 22.4%.

The government has bandied arguments that subsidy removal is necessary to shore up the needed cash for capital projects and other citizen-impact plans. However, most analysts have criticised the government’s approach and timing.

The NLC and its sister organization, Trade Union Congress (TUC), suspended their first plan to go on strike in June after the National Industrial Court ruled against it and the government to negotiate.

The union said nothing has changed since then, reason for its decision to go on strike.

“The government hasn’t convened the meeting of the committee, labour hasn’t been carried along,” said Mr Onyeka.