Tariff hike: NLC asks workers, public to boycott telecoms services three hours daily

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on workers and the public to boycott the services of MTN, Airtel, and Glo over a recent 50 percent increase in tariffs.

The decision was reached following a meeting of the NLC’s central working committee (CWC) in Kogi state.

In a statement on Wednesday, Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, described the hike as “arbitrary” and demanded an immediate reversal.

He said the boycott would begin on Thursday and run daily from 11:00 pm to 2:00 pm until the end of February 2025.

The union said the boycott would continue until the tariff is reverted to the previous rate pending the conclusion of discussions by the relevant committee.

“As a first step in resisting this arbitrary tariff hike, the CWC has directed that, beginning Thursday, February 13, 2025, Nigerian workers and other willing citizens shall boycott the services of MTN, AIRTEL, and GLO daily between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM until the end of February 2025,” the statement reads.

On Tuesday, the house of representatives asked the ministry of communications, innovation and digital economy to suspend the approval granted to telecommunications companies to increase tariff by 50 percent.

The house directed the ministry of digital economy and the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) to “suspend the impending hike in telecommunications tariffs until their service improved”.