The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has given the federal government up till Wednesday next week to revert to the old price of N185 for the pump price of petrol in the country.
Failure to revert to the old price, it warned, would lead to a strike by the workers.
The strike, it was added, would be followed by nationwide protest.
The announcement was made on Friday by the president of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, shortly after a National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja.
There has been an increase in the price of petrol following President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy on Monday.
The president made the announcement on Monday while making his inaugural speech.
A new price template was later issued with the price increased to over N500 per litre of petrol.
NLC had on Wednesday advised the federal government to immediately instruct the Nigerian Petroleum Company Ltd, NNPCL, to withdraw the new pricing template to allow free flow of discussions by the parties.
In a statement signed by Ajaero and released in Abuja, the NLC described the new template as vexatious, and an ambush which might scuttle its ongoing dialogue with the federal government.
According to Ajaero, government could not in one breathe be talking about deregulation and at the same time fixing the prices of petroleum products.
The statement reads in part: “This is an ambush and runs against the spirit and principles of Social Dialogue which remains the best platform available for the resolution of all the issues arising out of the petroleum Down-stream sector.
“This negates the spirit of allowing the operation of the free market unless the government has, as usual, usurped, captured or become market forces.
“It is therefore unacceptable and we seriously condemn it. Good faith negotiation is key to reaching agreement.”
“Our commitment to this process is buoyed on the fact that all the parties would be committed to ensuring that it is carried out within the ambits of liberty without undue pressure.
“The release of that template may not allow us to continue if nothing is done to withdraw it so that the dialogue can continue unhindered. It is clear that government is actually trying to scuttle the process.
“As it stands, the federal government has become fixated on their chosen course of action. Would this help this dialogue? It clearly will not.
“There must be flexibility to allow concessions and reasonable accommodation that will produce the best result for Nigerian people. This is what we all seek at this time,” the statement read further.
