The Nigeria Labour Congress has called off its planned nationwide demonstration against the Federal Government’s recent approval of a 50% increase in telecom rates.
After meeting with government officials at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in Abuja on Monday, the labor union called off the rally that was supposed to take place on Tuesday (today).
The Nigerian Communications Commission, the telecom watchdog, had justified the 50% fee hike by pointing to increased operating costs brought on by inflation, volatile foreign exchange rates, and growing energy costs.
The regulator stated in a statement that the change was consistent with its responsibility to maintain the telecom industry’s financial viability under the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003.
The NLC, however, objected to the tariff increase and called for a 5% decrease, threatening a nationwide demonstration if its demands were not fulfilled.
It claimed that the raise would place an additional burden on Nigerian consumers and denounced it as insensitive and unreasonable.
Following the NLC’s National Administrative Council meeting, union president Joe Ajaero reaffirmed the organization’s call for a substantial cut.
“The following resolutions were reached following extensive discussions,” he stated. The 50% telecom tariff increase is completely rejected by the NAC-in-session because it is too severe for the general public. Therefore, the Nigerian Communications Commission’s decision to authorize the increase is harshly condemned.
“Nigerian workers and the general public, who are already facing increasing economic hardship due to government policies beyond their control, are directly attacked by this insensitive and unjustifiable decision.”
In protest of the rise, the union urged Nigerians to get ready for a statewide boycott of telecom services.
Telecom providers insisted that the current adjustment was required to preserve service quality and facilitate network expansion in an increasingly difficult economic climate, even in the face of criticism from the union.
They insisted that no decrease would be made in spite of the labor threat and ruled out talks with organized labor on the tariff rise.
The authorized rise, according to Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, is essential to maintaining telecom operations in the face of rising costs.
We are able to survive because of this increase. He claimed that any smaller amount would be equivalent to providing a person who requires 100 liters of oxygen with only a small amount—just enough to keep them alive but not enough for long-term life.
The NLC organized the demonstration with the help of civil society organizations, aviation workers, and energy workers to guarantee maximum impact.
But after the meeting on Monday, the NLC decided to put a stop to the protest until more talks took place.
Following the meeting, NLC President Ajaero told reporters that the government has decided to form a bigger committee to examine the tariff structure as a whole.
Five representatives from both sides will make up the committee, he said, and it is anticipated that the conclusions would be submitted in two weeks.
“We emphasized that no stakeholder consultation can exclude the NLC and still stand since we are the largest organization in Africa,” said Ajaero. In order to secure a fair and inclusive agreement, they decided to establish a larger committee that would examine the entire tariff structure as a model in order to produce a realistic and comprehensive agreement.
Five representatives from both sides will make up the committee, which is anticipated to produce a decision in two weeks. That will dictate the next course of action and the engagement process.
He went on to say that the committee’s findings will determine the union’s next course of action, which might include boycotts, service withdrawals, or protests.
“Until the conclusion of such a committee, the symbolic gesture of submitting the letters tomorrow (today) will be postponed. Our next course of action on the three issues we posted online—protest, boycott, and possibly service withdrawal—will be determined by the committee’s findings, he stated.
Ajaero stated that the NLC is still worried about other urgent economic issues, such as power pricing and onerous taxes on workers, even though the intended symbolic submission of complaint letters has been postponed.
Additionally, we have voiced our disgust with the exorbitant electricity rates and the intolerable tax system that is killing workers. The labor leader stated, “These are still unresolved issues that need to be addressed.”
According to Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, the NCC increased the tariff after conducting research.
He added that a committee consisting of five representatives from each side had been established and that the NLC had agreed to review the study in order to formulate its resolutions.
According to the minister, “the main point is that the NCC previously did a research that helped them come to this 50% increase. We are now talking to Labour about this.
“Labour has committed to reviewing the report, and a small committee has been established to review it once more and develop a final resolution that the government and Labour may review in roughly two weeks.
In short, a committee consisting of five members each has been established by the Federal Government delegation and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
For the next two weeks, we will be meeting here nonstop. At the conclusion of the second week, we will develop a recommendation that we will present to the government and organized labor for their final review.
“The government members and organized labor, especially the NLC, have gathered here and decided on this stance.
“There will therefore be no protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress tomorrow (today), and a report of some kind will be presented in roughly two weeks to take into account the study and other factors that both parties have considered.”
Following a high-level discussion with the NCC, the Nigerian National Civil Society Council, which had initially backed the protest, also declared the suspension on Monday.
The council, which stands for more than 600 affiliate organizations, had earlier denounced the tariff increase and organized a large-scale demonstration to take over the National Assembly and NCC offices.
Nevertheless, the Council changed its mind following lengthy discussions and a detailed analysis of the financial realities that telecom service providers face.
Eleven members of the NCSCN’s delegation met with NCC officials for four hours.
The council’s delegation came to the meeting expecting to dispute the NCC on the price decision, according to NCSCN Executive Director Blessing Akinlosotu.
However, a reassessment of the situation resulted from the meeting’s comprehensive presentations, economic analyses, and operational data.
The council established a five-member technical committee to perform a forensic examination of telecom service providers’ yearly profit margins, financial accounts, and operational expenses in order to guarantee an unbiased evaluation.
According to Akinlosotu, “We further established a 5-member Technical Committee to thoroughly review the documents that were presented to us after the tense and robust engagement with the Management of NCC.
We asked the Committee to perform clinical and forensic examination of available records of operational costs and annual profit margins of some major Telecom Service Providers in Nigeria, with critical assessments of Financial Statements.”
“Our results were highly intriguing and necessitate a thorough reassessment of the position and intended course of action.”
Despite inflation and challenging economic conditions, the committee’s findings showed that cellular companies had not raised charges since 2013.
Diesel and electricity prices have increased dramatically, which has a big effect on network operations.
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