NLC and TUC officials at an event
The latest calls by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on workers and the public to boycott telecom services for three hours daily in protest against tariff hikes cannot be seen as a clever or workable strategy to compel Main Network Operators (MNOs) to reverse to old service charges.
Rather, it sounds defeatist and lacks seriousness in producing results from a serious labour union.
It’s important for NLC to first bear in mind that MNOs are private companies and not government owned firms. These telecoms firms pay their taxes and other legal obligations under the laws of the land.
Where the labour unions can influence actions remains over government owned companies which rely on public funding and not on private companies struggling to survive in an economy that has been frustrated with unworkable policies in the last two years.
This kind of boycott would have been apt when the subsidy was unilaterally removed without any form of consultation with NLC; When the tariff in electricity was hiked also without any form of genuine consultations; When tolling on federal roads started without any form of consultations; When fuel prices kept jumping from pillar to post without any form of consultation with NLC; When Customs tariff was raised without consultations; and when national power grid kept collapsing without any solution insight.
In the position of Business Hilights, we believe that NLC stand on telecoms tariff hike is anti-productivity because the last time it was reviewed was 13 years ago and no product price has remained the same in the last 13 years when current economic realities are put on the table. We stand to be corrected.
Accordingly, we urge all opposition to the telecoms tariff hike to understand that the current economic realities were to be blamed and not telecoms.
It would be recalled that the NLC has urged workers and the public to boycott the services of MTN, Airtel, and Glo in response to a recent 50% increase in tariffs.
The decision followed a meeting of the NLC’s Central Working Committee (CWC) in Kogi State.
In a statement on Wednesday, NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned the tariff hike as “arbitrary” and demanded an immediate reversal.
He announced that the boycott would begin on Thursday and take place daily from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm until the end of February 2025. According to the union, the action will continue until the tariffs return to previous rates pending further discussions by the relevant committee.
“As a first step in resisting this arbitrary tariff hike, the CWC has directed that, beginning Thursday, February 13, 2025, Nigerian workers and other willing citizens shall boycott the services of MTN, Airtel, and Glo daily between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm until the end of February 2025,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the House of Representatives urged the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to suspend the approval granted to telecommunications companies for the 50% tariff hike.
The House further directed the ministry and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to halt the increase until service quality improves.
