The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) says it has not shelved its planned industrial action over the recently approved hike in telecommunication tariffs.
The union said its members will down tools and embark on a nationwide protest over the insensitive hike which it said will further worsen the living conditions of the citizens who are already grappling with severe economic hardship.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Festus Osifo, the President of TUC, pointed out that citizens are “feeding from hand to mouth” following the recent hike in telecom tariff.
He attributed the hike on mismanagement of foreign exchange, which he believes the government can handle easily.
He explained that the TUC is not begrudging the telcos, knowing the challenges they are facing operating in the current unfriendly business environment and perilous socio-economic landscape.
He, however, insisted that the government has the responsibility to ensure that the economic outlook of the country is stable for businesses to thrive.
According to him, “Government has the tools and wherewithal to be able to manage the landscape to ensure that the cost of doing business goes down. And one of the ways is that exchange rate because that is the root cause of the problem.”
Asked what ultimatum they are giving to the Nigerian government, he added, “The NAC [TUC, which is like the National Working Committee] has met today. After that, we’ll have the Central Working Committee meeting, and we also have the NEC.
“So at the NEC, we’ll take the final decision. So the NAC was the one that met today.
“All we are saying is that if you allow your currency to slide, it will affect all of us.”
He added, “We are completely apolitical. For one, I don’t belong to any political party; I’ve said that severally, so we look for what is in the best interest of the Nigerian workers and Nigerians in general.
“We started shouting about this early last year; if our exchange rate is better managed, at the end you are going to see that there is no need for that increment.”
Asked if the TUC is proceeding with an industrial action, he said, “Absolutely,” adding that they will “down tools and go to the streets.”
He said the NEC of TUC has the responsibility to give a date for the strike.
DAILY POST reports that members of the Trade Union Congress are in charge of the oil sector and other sectors crucial to the running of the economy.
