The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has called for an immediate cut in petrol prices, a wage award for workers across the country, and the commencement of talks on a new national minimum wage, saying the high cost of living has reduced workers’ purchasing power.
The NLC made the call in its Independence Day message signed
by its President, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday.
The statement is titled: “Our Hope Depends on the Choices We
Make and the Actions We Take.”
The union said the demands were necessary because workers
and other Nigerians are still struggling with the high costs of transportation,
food, rent and school fees.
It blamed the worsening hardship on the rise in petrol
prices following the removal of the subsidy in 2023.
According to the union, the Federal Government should
urgently tackle the impact of fuel prices on transport fares and the prices of
other goods.
The NLC also called for the immediate payment of a wage
award to workers at the federal, state and local government levels, saying it
is an emergency measure to help workers whose incomes have declined, rather
than an act of charity.
The call comes after the October 2023 agreement between the
Federal Government and labour unions following the removal of the petrol
subsidy.
Under the agreement, federal workers were to receive a
monthly wage award of N35,000, with states and local governments urged to do
the same.
“Petrol now sells at N1,430 per litre or higher in major
cities and far more in remote areas. The surge in transportation costs drives
up the prices of food, school fees, rent and nearly every necessity of life,
while nominal wages remain stagnant.
“A wage award is not charity. It is an emergency
intervention against the collapse of real income. Without cutting this chain,
any effort to ease the suffering of the people is futile,” the union said.
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