Labour decries petrol price hike, demands review in salaries

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the recent petrol price hike, saying it’s pushing Nigerians to the limit. NLC President Joe Ajaero made this declaration at the 8th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Ajaero said, “Today, the nation’s macro-economic indices are all heading down south without any letting.

“Petrol prices have gone through the roof and are nearly impossible for an average Nigerian to afford.

“Transportation has become difficult, leading to levels of food scarcity and hunger never seen in the country before now.

“We demand a review of our salaries instead of its eroded values.”

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Ajaero emphasized the need for unity among workers, stating, “We need your unity and your strength if we are to creatively engage these forces and make governance work for the greater number of workers and people.”

He urged the trade union movement to challenge neo-liberal forces and protect the social will.

Demands

1. Re-commissioning of refineries: “We must together demand the re-commissioning of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries in keeping with the agreement we had with the Federal Government on October 15, 2023.”
2. Salary review: “We demand a review of our salaries instead of its eroded values.”
3. Immediate action: “It is sad but we cannot afford to keep our public refineries shut while still importing refined petroleum products.”

“It is either we find a way to collectively overcome the forces that are bent on keeping us down as a people or we completely surrender to them and wallow in hopelessness,” Ajaero warned.

“The forces of neo-liberalism must be challenged and the trade union movement remains the only viable force in Nigeria and in the world that can creatively engage it and mitigate its stranglehold on our nation,” he emphasized.

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