Joe Ajaero: Electricity tariff, taxes killing workers

Joe Ajaero, president of the National Labour Congress (NLC), says electricity tariff and taxes are killing workers in Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with government officials on Monday, Ajaero expressed dissatisfaction with the current tax regime, describing it as unbearable for the workers.

“…I want to use this particular meeting to put in our displeasure on the electricity tariff and the tax that is killing the workers now the tax regime, which is unbearable. So those are actions that are still on course, you know, until they are addressed. So that’s the summary of the meeting,” the NLC president said.

Ajaero’s remarks came amid ongoing negotiations between the federal government and labour leaders over the recent 50 percent increase in telecoms tariffs.

On January 20, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted approval to telcos to implement a 50 percent tariff increase.

The NLC had announced plans to go on nationwide protests on February 4 after the increase, citing rising operational costs and inflation.

However, the congress agreed to delay the protest for two weeks after meeting with the federal government on Monday.

As part of the agreement, a 10-member committee, consisting of five members from each side, has been established to review the tariff hike report and propose solutions that address the concerns of both telecom operators and consumers.

The committee is expected to submit its findings within two weeks.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the NLC president lamented that the labour was not consulted before the NCC agreed upon the tariff hike.

Also speaking, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, said the government and labour had agreed to maintain dialogue rather than resort to confrontation.

With the agreement, the minister said the planned protests would no longer hold.