Telecoms tariff hike: NLC fumes, gives 1st March alert to shut telecoms services

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has expressed outrage over the hike in tariffs by telecommunications companies, despite an earlier agreement reached with the Federal Government and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and demanded immediate reversal of the increase to avoid unpleasant consequences.

However, the operators are not taking any of NLC’s threats, warning that labour’s actions would amount to a treasonable felony.

Recall that the Federal Government and NLC had about two weeks ago, emerged from a meeting convened by the former to see how the price hike could be reduced from the proposed 50 %.

A 10-man committee, comprising five members from each of the two parties, was constituted and given two weeks to further deliberate on the issue before a decision was taken.

The two-week deadline given to the committee ends this week but some of the telecommunications companies have already effected a hike of 50% hike in data.

According to NLC, “if the telecommunications companies fail to revert to the old tariff by the end of February 2025, a total shutdown of their operations nationwide will commence from March 1, 2025.”

To show its seriousness, the labour movement declared that as a first step in resisting the arbitrary tariff hike, it directed that from Thursday, February 13, 2025, (today) workers and other willing citizens should boycott the services of MTN, AIRTEL, and GLO daily between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, with effect from Thursday, February 11 till end of February 2025.

Leaders of the NLC in a communique at the end of a Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Tuesday, urged workers and citizens to suspend purchase of data from the telecommunications companies.

The communique, signed by the President and General Secretary of Congress, Joe Ajaero, and Emma Ugboaja, respectively, directed state councils and industrial union affiliates to commence immediate sensitization and mobilization of their members and the general public within their jurisdictions.

The communique read: “The CWC of the NLC was convened in Lokoja, Kogi State, on February 11, 2025, to deliberate on pressing national issues, including the 50 per cent telecommunications tariff hike, the proposed Tax Reform Bills, and to roll out the Compressed Natural Gas, CNG-powered buses for the North Central zone of Nigeria.

VANGUARD REPORTS