NLC has demanded a fresh upward review of the minimum wage over hardship.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded a fresh upward review of the minimum wage following the recent petrol price hike by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
This Nigeria news platform understands that NLC President Joe Ajaero made the call 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.”
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.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that barely three weeks after raising the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, Nigerians were outraged when the NNPC adjusted the pump prices of the commodity on Tuesday, as oil marketers foresee further price hikes in the short term.
The national oil firm raised the retail price of petrol in Abuja to N1,060 from N1,030 per litre, one of our correspondents observed across multiple NNPCL stations in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday.
In Lagos, it was confirmed that NNPCL stations increased the unit price of the commodity from N998 to N1,025 per litre, which received widespread criticisms from the Organised Private Sector, Civil Society Organisations and Nigerians in general.
The new petrol price in Abuja is an increase of N30 from the old price, while in Lagos it is an increase of N27.
This adjustment also marks the third price change between September and October 2024 and is part of the government’s deregulation policy, which allows prices to fluctuate based on supply and demand dynamics.
The fresh increase followed the October 9, 2024 hike from N897 to N1,030. Also, on September 2, 2024, it was increased by the NNPCL. The retail company had hiked the price per litre of petrol from N617 to N897, sparking nationwide outrage.
Since the “subsidy is gone” presidential declaration in May 2023, the NNPCL has gradually increased the pump prices of petrol from N184 in Lagos to N1,025.
NNPC reacts
The Spokesperson of the NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, said he is not aware of any fresh Premium Motor Spirit pump price increase across its retail outlets.
In an interview with Daily Post on Tuesday, he said; “There is no increase in gasoline price that I am aware of.”.
Similarly, the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, said NNPCL’s ex-depot price has not changed.
“For independent marketers, we have experienced a fresh price hike as I am speaking with you. NNPCL still sells to us at the same price.
“For Port Harcourt, it is N1040 per litre; Abuja and Lagos are around N990 per litre,” he said.