Workers’ Day: Labour Laments Rising Food Prices, Fuel Crisis
As Nigerian workers commemorate the 2024 May Day on Wednesday (today), organised labour has expressed concern about the rising food prices and fuel scarcity in the country, saying the current situation threatens workers’ survival.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress leaders on Tuesday, lamented the harsh economic situation which had been compounded by the twin burdens of the electricity tariff hike and high fuel pump prices.
As the unions expressed concern about the economic hardship, queues at fuel stations worsened on Tuesday as a result of petrol scarcity. Many workers and students, who could not get to their destinations, were stranded.
Lamenting the high prices of food, labour leaders said workers were finding it difficult to make ends meet.
The prices of basic food commodities such as rice, beans, maize, plantain, and tomatoes surged by 25.34 per cent to 40.01 per cent as of March 2024.
Amidst the economic hardship, the government increased the tariff to be paid on electricity by 603 per cent to N225 per kilowatts.
The unions bemoaned how inflation and government policies had worsened the lot of workers across the country as the House of Representatives, Nigerian Bar Association and the National Association of Nigerian Students rejected the increase in electricity tariff.
This year’s Workers’ Day celebration comes in the face of rising inflation and biting fuel scarcity in many parts of the nation coupled with the minimum wage which has remained stagnant at the same level despite the high cost of living in the country.
The labour leaders in Ekiti State said it was a miracle workers were surviving under the present economic reality, citing the inflation, poverty rate, electricity tariff and high fuel prices.
The TUC Chairman, Sola Adigun, said, “The survival of workers and Nigerians as a whole under the present economic hardship and reality is a miracle; That Nigerian workers could survive and still find ways of going to offices, doing their work; I think it takes God’s miracle to do that.
“I want to say that the present economic situation, poverty level, removal of fuel subsidy, the galloping food inflation in the country are threats to the existence of an average Nigerian vis a vis workers. They are threats to our existence and comfort.”
The TUC chairman, however, said that despite the threats “Nigerian workers have a lot of causes to celebrate. We have reasons to celebrate.
The NLC in Anambra State insisted that the workers had nothing to celebrate due to the high poverty rate and high inflation which had worsened their living conditions.
The state Publicity Secretary of the NLC, Emeka Obiora, lamented that the living conditions of workers had continued to worsen daily without the relevant authorities doing anything impactful to alleviate the situation.
Obiora said, “Workers have nothing tangible to celebrate. Unfortunately, this appears to be the worst moment for workers and many households in terms of welfare, living conditions and economic power, unlike it was three to four years ago.
“Many workers have been plunged into poverty. This is because before they receive their monthly salaries, they must have exhausted it on purchasing food and other basic needs on credit. Our purchasing powers keep depreciating daily.
“The high inflation, electricity tariff and fuel prices today are not what it used to be five years ago, yet, workers’ salaries are not increasing in commensurate proportion with the trend of inflation. Our living conditions are being threatened as most workers can no longer afford basic household needs.’’
Making a case for a high minimum wage, the labour leader stated, “Workers in Anambra State used to get additional N12,000 on top of our salaries, but the state government had stopped it. Our income can no longer take us home anymore. It is spent before it comes; many of us live on borrowing for the larger part of the month.
“The development is not palatable at all. The state government and in fact, the state governments in the South-East should consider nothing less than N240,000 as a minimum wage.”
