Business

Nigerians Surprised As Labour Keeps Mum On Fuel Price Increase

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2020

Despite various calls by Nigerians both online and offline that the Organised Labour should react to the recent increment in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart have kept silent.

The increment came barely after 72 hours oil workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) declared indefinite strike over issues related to Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and other sundry issues..

Daily Trust had on Saturday reported that Nigerians are still groaning following the federal government’s decision to raise the pump price from N160 to N170, with many calling out labour leaders to take actions.

The Justification

But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) justified the increment, saying “the slight increase in the price based on the prevailing realities of market forces of demand and supply”.

However, days after the increment, the NLC and the TUC are yet to officially react either via a statement or other means.The labour leaders neither responded to several calls nor text and Whatsapp messages sent by our correspondent.

Similarly, other journalists covering labour beat have also expressed their frustrations towards labour leaders’ non-response to calls and messages.

A journalist working with one the national dailies said, “I’ve called and sent different messages, all to no avail. I called some members of staff at Labour House, none of them responded appropriately.