According to union officials, Nigeria’s two largest labour unions want to begin an indefinite strike the following week in protest of the country’s rising cost of living as a result of the government’s elimination of a well-liked but expensive petrol subsidy.
The two largest unions, the National Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), announced on Tuesday that the strike would start on October 3.
“It’s going to be a total shutdown … until government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses,” the union leaders said in a joint statement.
“The Federal Government has refused to meaningfully engage and reach agreements with organized labour on critical issues of the consequences of the unfortunate hike in price of petrol which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigeria workers and masses.”
President Bola Tinubu has been urged by unions to reconsider his decision in May to end the long-standing subsidy that had kept fuel prices low but was depleting government coffers.
The administration had urged unions to stay in talks rather than go on strike, arguing that doing so would harm an economy already struggling with double-digit inflation, a lack of foreign currency, and low oil production.
Given that the majority of businesses and homes rely on gasoline generators for their electricity, prices have increased significantly, including those for food, transportation, and power.
The removal of the subsidy and the removal of foreign exchange controls are two of Tinubu’s largest reforms. He has justified them, claiming that while they will cause hardships in the short term, they were essential to attracting investment and bolstering government coffers.
Living and transportation costs have been severely impacted in Africa’s largest economy as a result of the government ending its fuel subsidy and devaluing the naira significantly.
Fuel prices have tripled since Tinubu took office in May, while inflation is at a 25 percent rate.
The administration of Tinubu admits the challenges and claims to have given money to state governments to lessen the effects of the economic changes. Providing transportation options and small company loans are further strategies.
While the TUC represents senior bank employees and high school teachers among others, the NLC brings together unions for several industries, including nurses, road workers, and printers.
How much support the industrial action would receive was unclear.
The same difficulties prompted the NLC and TUC to declare a strike in August, which resulted in the closure of numerous establishments including banks, government buildings, marketplaces, and shops. The impact of the strike in Lagos, the nation’s financial hub, was less clear.
Nigeria, an OPEC member and big producer of petroleum, must import the majority of the fuel it needs due to a shortage of refining infrastructure.
