NLC Condemns 50% Telecom Tariff Hike as ‘Assault on Workers’

The federal government’s approval of a 50% hike in telecommunications charges has drawn criticism from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved a 50 percent pricing rise for telecommunications companies (telcos) on Monday.

The NLC’s president, Joe Ajaero, described the decision as a “clear assault” on the welfare of Nigerian workers in a statement released on Wednesday.

“This decision, coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, is a clear assault on their welfare and an abandonment of the people to corporate fat cats,” the statement reads.

“Everyday communication, work, and information access all depend on telecommunication services.

However, the typical Nigerian worker already spends almost 10% of their income on telecom costs.

“For a worker earning the current minimum wage of N70,000, this means an increase from N7,000 to a staggering N10,500 per month, or 15 percent of his salary—a cost that is unsustainable.

This increase is a perfect example of how easily the government seems to put corporate profits ahead of the welfare of its constituents.

It is astonishing that, despite the fact that inflation and the growing cost of living are reducing purchasing power, the government took almost a year to approve the recent minimum wage for workers while only approving a 50% rate rise for telecom companies in less than a month.

This stark discrepancy highlights a concerning fact: the government seems to be more concerned with the needs of powerful corporations than with the needs of the people and workers it is supposed to represent.

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We need to know when the government will defend those it pledged to defend. When will the national assembly step up and demand accountability from the executive branch for policies that clearly jeopardize the interests of the majority?
When will the average Nigerian breathe a sigh of relief?

‘NLC IS NOT OPPOSED TO TARIFF REVIEW’
Ajaero clarified that the labour body is not opposed to tariff reviews but is not in support of the approved rate of increase.

“We therefore call on the government, the NCC, and the national assembly to stop the implementation of this ill-advised hike to allow a reasonable conversation around it,” he said.

“If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then, we can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50 percent hike.

“The NLC calls on all Nigerian workers and masses to reject this unjustifiable tariff hike.”

He called on citizens to prepare for collective action, including a possible nationwide boycott of telecommunication services.

Ajaero said the initiative would push for the reversal of the tariff increase, describing it as essential for “our dignity, our rights, and our survival” as a people.