The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, threatening to go on strike if the recently approved 50% increase in telecommunications tariffs is not reversed.
TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, made this known during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday. Following a National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting earlier in the day, the union strongly condemned the proposed tariff hike, describing it as not only ill-timed but also a “deliberate act of economic oppression” against Nigerians.
When asked if the union would go on strike and take to the streets should the government refuse to reverse the decision, Osifo responded emphatically, “Yes! Correct!”
Regarding the timeline for the action, Osifo explained, “What we had today is the NAC meeting to bring about sensitization. After that, we will have the CWC meeting and the NEC meeting. So, it is the responsibility of the NEC of TUC to give a date and define the next line of action.”
He urged the government to address the root cause of the issue—foreign exchange (forex) mismanagement—rather than merely tackling its symptoms.
“If you know what the root cause of the problem is, why would you start looking at the symptoms? So, all the increment that we are seeing today is the symptom of FX mismanagement. All we are asking is that we sit down and look at how we can go back to that root cause, because we strongly believe that if that root cause is addressed, there is no need for these symptoms to prop up,” Osifo stated.
While acknowledging the high operational costs faced by telecom companies, the TUC president argued that the government should focus on providing economic stability to reduce these costs rather than resorting to tariff increases.
The proposed tariff hike has sparked outrage among labour unions and civil society groups. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) initially planned a protest for Tuesday but suspended it following discussions with government representatives. Both parties have now agreed to form a 10-member committee—comprising five representatives from each side—to review the tariff increase and submit a report within two weeks.
