The South East Coalition for Good Governance, SECG, has said organized labour betrayed Nigerians after the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, suspended it’s planned strike to protest the removal of fuel subsidy.
President Bola Tinubu in his inaugural speech on May 29, had said fuel subsidy is gone.
This led to long queues at filling stations and hike in prices of petrol across the country.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, subsequently increased the price of petrol to over N500 per liter from N198.
The NLC and TUC, in reaction to the hike and removal of petrol subsidy, said it will embark on a nationwide strike on June 7.
On June 5, the organized Labour suspended the strike, to pave way for further negotiations with the Federal Government.
The suspension of the strike also came after the National Industrial Court, Abuja, had ordered NLC and TUC not to proceed with the industrial action.
Reacting to the suspension of the strike by NLC and TUC, SECG President, Mr. Emmanuel Okwu, told INNONEWS in Enugu, that Nigerians cannot trust organized labour anymore.
He said labour should have taken steps to quash or vacate the court order, stating that it is strange how Labour consented to the sale of petrol above N500 per liter by the NNPCL.
“The organized labour has betrayed Nigerians and left them to their fate. Nigerians cannot trust Labour anymore.
“How do Labour expect Nigerians to cope with the astronomical price of petrol together with inflation and the attendant effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“Prices of goods and services have gone up.Nigerians are suffering over the hike in price of fuel.
“Cost of transportation is on the rise, businesses are collapsing and labour are only interested in increase in minimum wage for workers
“How about those who are not in the minimum wage bracket? What is the percentage of those who earn minimum wage in Nigeria?
“Labour never bothered to seek for a temporary measure form the Federal Government on how Nigerians will cope with the severe and biting effects of the fuel subsidy removal and hike in price of petrol pending when government comes up with its palliatives.
“Organized labour should have insisted that the price of petrol be reduced to between N290 to 320 per liter by NNPCL, as a basis for further negotiations with the Federal Government” he said.
Okwu it is unfortunate that it is Nigerians, especially the poor that always suffer the effect or impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.
