Barely three days after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted approval to telecommunications companies (telcos) to implement a 50 percent tariff increase, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the federal government for approving the increase.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, in a statement issued on Wednesday, 22 January, 2025, called the decision a “clear assault” on Nigerian workers’ welfare.
This decision, coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, is a clear assault on their welfare and an abandonment of the people to corporate fat cats,” the statement reads.
“Telecommunication services are essential for daily communication, work, and access to information.
“Yet, an average Nigerian worker already spends approximately 10 percent of their wages on telecom charges.
“For a worker earning the current minimum wage of N70,000, this means an increase from N7,000 to a staggering N10,500 per month, or 15 percent of his salary—a cost that is unsustainable.
“This hike exemplifies the government’s apparent ease in prioritising corporate profits over citizens’ welfare.
“It is shocking that the government approved this 50 percent tariff increase for telecom companies within a month yet took nearly a year to approve the recent minimum wage for workers, despite the rising cost of living and inflation eroding purchasing power.
“This glaring disparity underscores a troubling reality: the government appears more aligned with the interests of wealthy corporations than with the needs of the workers and citizens it is meant to serve.
“We must ask: When will the government stand for the people it swore to protect? When will the national assembly rise to its responsibility and hold the executive accountable for policies that blatantly undermine the welfare of the majority?
When will the common man heave a sigh of relief in Nigeria?”
Ajaero clarified that the labour body is not opposed to tariff reviews but is not in support of the approved rate of increase.
“We therefore call on the government, the NCC, and the national assembly to stop the implementation of this ill-advised hike to allow a reasonable conversation around it,” he said.
“If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50 percent hike.
“The NLC calls on all Nigerian workers and masses to reject this unjustifiable tariff hike.”
The labour leader called on citizens to prepare for collective action, including a possible nationwide boycott of telecommunication services.
