The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has called for an immediate cut in petrol prices, a wage award for workers across the country and the commencement of talks on a new national minimum wage, saying the high cost of living has reduced workers’ purchasing power.
The NLC made the call in its Independence Day message signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday.
The statement is titled: “Our Hope Depends on the Choices We Make and the Actions We Take.”
The union said the demands were necessary because workers and other Nigerians are still struggling with the high costs of transportation, food, rent and school fees.
It blamed the worsening hardship on the rise in petrol prices following the removal of the subsidy in 2023.
According to the union, the Federal Government should urgently tackle the impact of fuel prices on transport fares and the prices of other goods.
The NLC also called for the immediate payment of a wage award to workers at the federal, state and local government levels, saying it is an emergency measure to help workers whose incomes have declined, rather than an act of charity.
The call comes after the October 2023 agreement between the Federal Government and labour unions following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Under the agreement, federal workers were to receive a monthly wage award of N35,000, with states and local governments urged to do the same.
“Petrol now sells at N1,430 per litre or higher in major cities and far more in remote areas. The surge in transportation costs drives up the prices of food, school fees, rent and nearly every necessity of life, while nominal wages remain stagnant.
“A wage award is not charity. It is an emergency intervention against the collapse of real income. Without cutting this chain, any effort to ease the suffering of the people is futile,” the union said.