Fuel Price Hike: We Will Go On Strike Without Notice, NLC Threatens

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike without any formal notice if there is further increase in the pump price of fuel.

Mr Joe Ajaero, NLC President said this at the ongoing African Alliance of Trade Unions meeting on Monday in Abuja.

Ajaero said that negotiations with the Federal Government were still ongoing and the palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal subsidy were yet to be put in place first.

Ajaero, while reacting to the advice of the Registrar of Trade Unions of their responsibilities of protecting the interest of workers and Nigerians, urged the government to change the anti-poor and anti-workers policies.

According to him, the government must change those bad economic policies that make our wages next to nothing.

“ As we are here now, they are contemplating on increasing the pump price of petroleum products but let me say this, Nigeria workers will not give any strike notice.

“If we have not addressed the consequences of the last two increases of fuel pump price, we would have woken up from sleep to hear that they have tampered with the fuel pump price again,” he said.

The NLC president however, appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that theⁿ anti-workers policies are checked.

“If you check those policies that lead to inflation and devaluation of the currency, we will be comfortable even where we are.

“If Naira is at par with the dollar today, we will ask you to leave the minimum wage at N30,000.If inflation is checked to zero, we will ask you to leave things the way they are.

“But inflation is flying, and by the admittance of the National Bureau of Statistics, we have over 133 million Nigerians that are multi dimensionally poor.

“I think these are the issues the Government should address. If we go for a wage increase tomorrow, the inflation that will follow suit will destroy it,”he said.