The relative calm in the labour circle, even though Nigerians are groaning in pains, over tariffs of different kinds, may be undermined if nothing is done urgently to bring the service providers and the consumers of their products to terms. All eyes are on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) under the leadership of Joe Ajero, owing to failure to bring the government on its knees on matters affecting the welfare of Nigerian workers. The latest imbroglio between Labour and the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), over tariffs increase may be another litmus test this time around. The problem began recently after the NCC approved a whopping 50 percent hike in telecom tariffs, citing operational costs and inflationary trends.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), in its reaction, described the price increase as further burden on the already pauperised masses, and therefore announced plans for a nationwide protest which was supposed to begin last week, but for the intervention of the Federal Government. The government intervention came as tension heightened, leading to the FG and NLC agreement to suspend the protest for two weeks, within which time frame Labour and the authorities would amicably resolve the issue for normalcy to return. The outcome of the 10-member committee already looking into the increments will determine the next move, according to NLC.
That said, the insensitivity of the government on the plights of the people has no comparison because the government has not been able to address the issues of the suffering masses and the biting hardship all over the place, but instead, continues to add to the burden of those that elected them. The priority of every government is to ensure that citizens are looked after, but alas, that is not the case in Nigeria. Here, promises are made and are broken immediately. The divide between the haves and the have not is widening every day. For example, the new minimum wage of #70,000 which was approved since last year is yet to be fully implemented by most state governments, yet, none has been called to order.
The electricity tariffs whereby consumers without notices are regularly moved to different bands still subsists. The fuel hike and now the telecom tariff are one increase too many for the people to bear in an economy where the citizens are struggling to feed their families. We are not unmindful that the telecom companies are also struggling too, owing to high cost of maintenance in the course of serving the people, but the question is, why did NCC go as high as 50 percent on this increase? How will the already impoverished Nigerian workers cope under this situation of yet another tariff hike? This is the time for the government and Labour to tell each other the home truth.
We have had situations in the past when government and Labour locked themselves in a room to find a way out of the impasse, only to turn around and accuse each other of betrayal at the end of the day. We do not want to hear such things anymore. Things cannot continue this way. The 50 percent telecom tariff is far above what any average Nigerian can afford. NCC should save the situation and ensure that Labour does not take to the street at this point in time. The liberalisation of telecom sector almost 25 years ago did not foresee a situation where tariffs would outweigh the income of its consumers. The idea was to allow Nigerians to have access to communication without really struggling to pay for it. This is one of the things developed countries provide with ease for their citizens.
We enjoin the 10-man committee to come out speedily with their recommendations and save the entire Nigerian population the harrowing experience of demanding for their legitimate rights in the street. The tariff hike is ill timed and must not, as usual, be politicised! While we commend the service providers, they should see reasons with the Nigerian workers and shift their positions. Hiding under NCC which is government agency to further milk the people is uncharitable, looking at the negative impact this would have on the people.
