The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has thrown its weight behind concerns raised by the Nigeria Labour Congress over further increases in electricity tariff and tolls on selected highways as well as the planned telecom tariff hike.
TUC President, Festus Osifo who said this at a News conference in Abuja shortly after a meeting of the National Administrative Council of the Trade Union Congress, used the opportunity to urge the government to urgently address the challenges associated with the high Exchange rate, which he claimed continues to devalue the Naira in the Foreign Exchange market.
Osifo, also ask the government to always listen to the concerns raised by Labour and address them accordingly, in order to avoid industrial unrest, lamenting that the previous increment already inflicted severe hardship on citizens.
The union therefore observed that the root cause of escalating prices and galloping inflation was the devaluation of the Naira.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting partly read: “NAC deliberated on the proposed introduction of toll gates on selected federal roads and strongly condemned it in its entirety. While we acknowledge that tolling is a globally recognized method of generating revenue for road maintenance, it is unacceptable to impose tolls on roads that are unpaved, dilapidated, and riddled with potholes.
“The NAC views this as an insult to Nigerians, who are being asked to pay tolls on roads that are in total disrepair. Our highways are death traps unsafe, abandoned, and filled with potholes. Rather than fulfilling its responsibility to fix and maintain these roads, the government is resorting to shameless extortion.
“The Congress, therefore, demands that all roads earmarked for tolling must first be fixed, properly tarred, and repaired to international standards before any discussion on tolling can be entertained.”
9News Nigeria reports that meeting between the Federal Government and NLC on Monday, February 3, 2025, produced a Memorandum of Agreement which forced the Labour centre to halt for 2 weeks, its planned nationwide protest over the proposed 50% telecom tariff hike.
