NLC moves against FG’s plan to hike electricity, petrol

The organised labour has urged the Federal Government to refrain from any plan to increase the price of electricity or petrol to avert crisis in the economy.

Mr Babatunde Olatunji, President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Product Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), made the appeal at the 29th Annual Industrial Relations seminar of the union in Ibadan on Monday, NAN reports.

According to Olatunji, any plan to increase electricity or petrol will be a wrong step and the organized labour will do everything within its capacity to resist it.

He said that currently, power supply in Nigeria stood at 4,000 megawatts for about 200 million population compared to South Africa with 58,000 megawatts and has 50 million population.

”Industrialisation cannot take place in the absence of power. Inadequate infrastructure like bad road network is also a challenge.

”Government should ensure adequate power, security of lives and properties as well as regulate multiple taxation and charges to allow manufacturing companies survive, thus promote Gross Domestic Products in the country,” he said.

The labour leader further said that the effect of socio-economic crises and coronavirus pandemic on industrial relations was evident in high number of job losses arising from factory closure.

He said that the management of some organisation in a bid to maximise profit have made staff to work for more than eight hours without overtime payment while many permanent employment are converted to casual.

Olatunji urged the management of affected organisations to treat all workers with dignity and also respect the International Labour Organisation’s law on workers right to join a union irrespective of their status.