The National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) has urged the Federal Government to create palliative to cushion the effects of the harsh economy on manufacturers.
Babatunde Olatunji, the president of NUCFRLANMPE stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos.
According to Olatunji, manufacturers are groaning due to overhead cost that has become a hindrance to operational efficiency.
He said part of what has increased the overhead cost is the inflation rate which stood at double digits and has a direct relationship with the interest rate.
The headline inflation rate for May 2022 rose to the highest in 11 months and also the fourth consecutive increase since January this year. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that on a month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.78 percentage points to 17.71 percent from 16.82 percent in April.
”Manufacturing is a critical sector of the economy. It depends largely on power which is currently below consumption while the tariff has risen. Worse is the price of gas and diesel which has also increased astronomically.
”Manufacturers in Nigeria are in the worse of times with the cost of diesel now N1,000 per litre,” he said.
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The union leader appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in infrastructure, especially roads which have made the movement of goods and services difficult. He noted that the effects of bad roads among other factors have reduced sales forcing many companies to close down.
”Redundancy is a daily exercise of employers in the chemical and footwear sector while various anti-labour practices are fast replacing normal practices.
”In NUCFRLANMPE, we had 30,000 members across the country, now, we have less than 10,000 as a result of closure or reorganisation of companies with attendant job loses,” he said
Olatunji said that the palliative should be on infrastructure, fuel subsidy and foreign exchange so as to remove obstacles hindering manufacturers and genuine businesses from accessing it.
He also said that the government should focus on repairing cargo railways, generating more electricity to attract investors and tackling insecurity.
”There should be a sincere peace pact among diverse interests and learning in Nigeria to resolve whatever differences are responsible for rising insecurity.
”No sane investor will put his or her money in a crisis-prone environment,” he said.
The union leader added that diversification of the economy, provision of infrastructure and power generation would create employment for millions of youths and Nigerians with the tendency to stem crime rates of civil unrest.
