The Nigeria Labour Congressm(NLC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to put palliative measures in place before removing fuel subsidy.

Mr Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

It would be recalled that Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal during his inaugural speech on Monday, saying that subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.

Tinubu pledged to re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, healthcare and jobs that would materially improve the lives of millions.

Ajaero said that the NLC would staunchly oppose the decision.

“We at the Nigeria Labour are outraged by the pronouncement of President Bola Tinubu removing ‘fuel subsidy’ without due consultations with critical stakeholders.

“Or without putting in place palliative measures to cushion the harsh effects of the ‘subsidy removal,” he said.

He said that within hours of Mr President’s pronouncement, the nation had gone into a tailspin due to a combination of service shut downs and product price hike, in some places representing over 300 per cent price adjustment.

He said that by the decision, Tinubu on his inauguration day had brought tears and sorrow to millions of Nigerians instead of hope.

The NLC president also said that Mr President had equally devalued the quality of their lives by over 300 per cent and counting.

According to him, it is no heroism to commit against the people this level of cruelty at any time, let alone on an inauguration day.

“If he is expecting a medal for taking this decision, he would certainly be disappointed to receive curses for the people of Nigeria consider this decision not only a slight but a big betrayal.

“On our part, we are demanding the immediate withdrawal of this policy. The implications of this decision are grave for our security and well-being.

“We wonder if President Tinubu gave a thought to why his predecessors in office refused to implement this highly injurious policy decision?”.

He added that “we also wonder if he also forgot the words he penned down on January 8, 2012, but issued on January 11, 2012.

“In light of the foregoing, we advise Tinubu to respect his own postulations and economic theories instead of daring the people. It could be a costly gamble,” he cautioned. (NAN)

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has warned its members to desist from night and reckless driving and loading of petroleum products at illegal points.

The Kaduna Zonal Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG, Mr Abdulsalam Mohammed, gave the warning at the union’s zonal meeting held in Sokoto on Saturday.

According to Mohammed, NUPENG has spent a large amount of money for the training of members across the branch.

“These were possible following the transparent leadership of our able National Chairman, Mr Lucky Osesua and his capable team of executives.

“Therefore, as NUPENG members we should continue to appreciate the leaders commitment by strictly adhering to the rules of law.

“We should remain law abiding citizens and always have the thought that our safety remain paramount,” he said.

He added that the meeting was very much unique because it came at the beginning of the year.

“The meeting will give us the opportunity to further strengthen our areas of strength and address squarely our areas of weakness,” he added.

Earlier, Mr Shuaibu Liba, Chairman PTD  Gusau unit, acknowledged the contribution and support of Sokoto State Government for providing enough parking space for Tanker Drivers in the state.

“The Sokoto State government under the leadership of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal has supported our union in many occasions directly and indirectly,” he said.

Liba also appreciated the contribution and support of security agencies to their members across the country.

He urged members to always remain security conscious, adding that the security challenges facing many parts of the country was very visible.

“As such, everyone here should have this in mind that security is everybody’s business; this is our responsibility to enlighten our members on the silent fact,” he added. (NAN)

The Organised Labour yesterday called for the review of retirement age for all public servants from 60 to 65 years and from 35 years to 40 years of service.

It made the demand during this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration with the theme: ‘Workers’ Rights and Socioeconomic Justice’.

This year’s May Day celebration was the last held under President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

The Organised Labour also demanded that an independent panel be set up to investigate the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu and his team over their conduct in the 2023 general elections.

The body demanded an investigation into the sending of N12 billion by the Ministry of Aviation to buy 10 fire trucks.

President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, who spoke at the event, said equity, fairness and justice underpins the survival of societies and creates resilience for nations in the midst of upheavals and turbulence, noting that Nigeria needs the presence of this mass to jump start the process of development.

He said poor wages, abuse of workplace rights and privileges as well as unpaid salaries strip workers of their rights.

On his part, the President of the TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo decried the state of the economy, which according to him is on auto pilot, struggling to survive while those engaged to manage it have kept throwing filth and injecting toxins into it.

He described as unfortunate, a situation which the country is led by men and women who delight in enacting policies that are detrimental to the progress of the nation, including the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) currency redesigning policy.

Attending the event are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello; and the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen.

The candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi was also in attendance.

Past and present leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as those of other affiliate unions converged on the Eagle Square Abuja in commemoration of the 2023 May Day Celebration.

‘N30,000 Minimum Wage No Longer Useful’

President General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Festus Osifo has said that the

currentN30,000 minimum wage has lost its value when compared to 2019 when the law to increase the wage was put into place.

He said this was because the nation consumes mostly imported things, meaning one would have to weigh the minimum wage against the value of the dollar today, as to fully comprehend the hardship that the average Nigerian worker has gone through, especially within the last year.

Osifo, who stated this yesterday, being the International Worker’s Day, was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

He also revealed that the various levels of difficulties and hardship faced by workers in the last year, made it quite uninteresting.

“If you check that 30,000 naira as at then (2019), if you check the value, thirty thousand could give you like 2, 3, 4 bags of rice, but today, where are we relating to that?

“We spend naira but literally every thing we consume, we import, so when you check the value of that 30,000 naira as at then when the dollar was somewhere between 300 and 350, if you check it then the minimum wage was approximately $100. But today, if you marry that viz-a-viz what is happening in the parallel market, then it is somewhere around $50, so what this means is that the exchange rate has actually affected the value of the naira which literally determines the purchasing power in the market.

“Today we are in real crisis,” Osifo buttressed.

The TUC President further asserted that today the purchasing power of the average Nigerian worker has depleted, adding that this is why the TUC and other sister bodies have been clamoring for a change in the duration it takes for government to review minimum wage, which in Nigeria’s case is five years.

According to him, with a high spate of inflation averaging 20 per cent each year, the Nigerian’s worker’s salary cannot remain stagnant.

He said what the Union is advocating is that as it is done in every other industry in Nigeria, there is a 2-year CBA negotiation, with salary adjustments considered within the same time frame. This practice Osifo said should be carried out more frequently to ensure that the Nigerian worker is not depleted.