Discordant tunes over fuel hike

… NUPENG, PENGASSAN, NECA back fuel hike …NLC, TUC, NULGE, TMG opt for strike From all indications the labour unions are sharply divided over the recent hike in the fuel price announced by the Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu last Wednesday. Shortly after the announcement of the fuel hike from N86.50 to N145 […]

… NUPENG, PENGASSAN, NECA back fuel hike
…NLC, TUC, NULGE, TMG opt for strike

From all indications the labour unions are sharply divided over the recent hike in the fuel price announced by the Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu last Wednesday.
Shortly after the announcement of the fuel hike from N86.50 to N145 per litre, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) gave the Federal Government   up till Wednesday morning to revert the pump price of petrol to the old price.
Although the Federal Government said that it arrived at the new price after due consultations with all interest groups, the NLC President Ayuba Wabba posited that the organized labour was not carried along and declared the government action as `unilateral’ and `anti -people’
The NLC which Wabba represents was not alone in the decision to vehemently resist the fuel hike as its Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart was also up in arms against the federal government over the new fuel price regime.
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at an emergency meeting in Lagos on Friday in a communiqué signed by its President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Acting Secretary-General, Comrade Simeso Amachree, rejected the increase and demanded that the government should revert to the old price regime with immediate effect.
Both the NLC and TUC at a joint press conference held on Saturday   gave the government up till Wednesday to revert to the old price or face a total nationwide strike.
“The NEC in session gave the federal government up till Wednesday, 18th May, 2016 to invite the leadership of labour for discussion aimed at determining the appropriate way forward,’’ says TUC in a statement signed by its president Bobbio Kaigama.
Both  directed their members across the country  to mobilize   to protest ‘the insensitive fuel price hike’ should the government fail to meet the Wednesday, 18th May, 2016 deadline.
Apart from the call to return PMS price back to N86.5 per litre, the unions want the federal government to reconsider the 45% increase in electricity tariffs, reconstitute the dissolved boards of PPPRA and NNPC, among other demands.
Also,  the  NLC civil society  allies, Civil  Society Groups and the Transition Monitoring Group have also rejected the measure and vowed to mobilise Nigerians for a forceful reversal.
Aside the NLC, TUC and its civil society allies, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has also expressed its readiness to join the battle in bringing back the petroleum price to the initial  N86.50 per litre.
 NULGE in a circular issued to its members urged them to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike.
 The document dated May 13, 2016, explains that the action is necessary for showing the disagreement of the union with the federal government’s decision to set the price for the premium motor spirit (PMS) at N145 per litre.
 The circular   signed by its president Ibrahim Khaleel  reads “ I am directed to convey the resolution of National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of Nigeria Labour Congress held on 13th May, 2016, while deliberating on the above subject matter. You are by this circular directed to sensitize all the local government workers in your state towards embarking on indefinite strike/mass protest action slated to commence on Wednesday 18th May, 2016, across the country till further notice
But while the TUC, NLC, NULGE and its affiliate civil society groups seek to reverse the petroleum price to its old price, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have lent their support to the government.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN after their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Calabar on Friday said that the deregulation of the downstream sector was the only option left for the economy to grow.
In a statement jointly signed by Comrade Igwe Achese, NUPENG Chairman, and Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, PENGASSAN Chairman, argued that deregulation of the sector was what they have been agitating for in the past eight years.
“For us our position is that the deregulation of the sector and opening of the market is a welcome development. The most important thing is that government has come up with a firm stand that would stop payment of subsidy into the hands of few Nigerians. That is the first thing Nigerians must appreciate. It was tried by the past administration and I know what happened. It was politicised. Some members of the political lines took over these issues as if it was their birth right to continue milking the nation’s purse,” the statement added.
Both unions agreed that there was need for a paradigm shift, basing their support for the deregulation on the premise that a new direction in the management of new investments and income in the oil and gas industry is desirable.
They however urged the government to put in place stringent measures to ensuring optional performance of the existing refineries and construction of new refineries to ensure adequate production for domestic consumption and possibly export and to commencement immediate negotiation of minimum wage for workers across all cadres.
“Government should also engage critical stakeholders for the federal government to provide a road map with timelines for the infrastructures it intends to embark upon with the proceeds from this price modulation to cushion the harsh effects of the new direction; and immediate reconstruction of the board of the PPPRA and PEF for the management of the new price regime,” they said.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN are not the only one opting out of the protest as the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has enjoined workers in the private sector to ignore any directive from the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC) to go on strike due to the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government
president of the association, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo,said in Lagos weekend that workers should go about their normal duties.
He said that the government decision is in the interest of both the employer and workers to ensure and sustain business survival as their wages are not dependent on government’s budgetary appropriation or monthly allocation.
He warned that any involvement in such a strike will certainly imperil their job and income security, particularly at a very difficult time like this.
Beyond applying the law of No work, No pay, he said, employers will take strong exception at any employee that fails to report for work as from Wednesday.
He appealed to the federal government and heads of the various security agencies to ensure that adequate security is put in place for workers to commute between their homes and different places of work.
‘’We once again appeal  to the generality of Nigerians to shun any call by organised labour to shut down our economy. This is one strike we can least afford,” he said.
He said the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry is long overdue, saying it is a crucial first step in the resolution of the perennial dependence of Nigeria on imported petroleum products.
Oshinowo   commended the federal government for the courage it has demonstrated by embracing a policy option that will jump start significant reform in the downstream sector that would impact positively on the economy both in the short and long terms.
He  said, “As a key actor in the economy and participant at various committees of the government in the past on the subject at stake, NECA deplored the usual resort of organised labour to threat of strike to impose its position even when such would be to the long term detriment of the economy as we have seen over the year with the subsidy regime.”