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| Africa: Subsaharan |
| Nigeria faces fuel strike threat------again! |
| 2004-06-08 |
| (If the oil strike is pulled off and lasts for a week or so, since Nigeria is a key OPEC exporter expect another slight boost in global crude prices.) Nigeria’s biggest trade union is threatening a nationwide strike over rising fuel prices. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said its members would down tools for 21 days from Wednesday unless the government agreed to cheaper fuel. "Banks, offices, schools, markets and companies will be closed," said NLC leader Adams Oshiomole. The move triggered a long-running confrontation between the government and trade unions protesting over the economic hardship caused by dearer fuel. The unions claim higher prices have pushed up the cost of public transport and food in a country where most of the 130-million strong population subsists on less than a dollar a day. The government has taken legal steps to prevent the threatened industrial action, issuing a court summons against the NLC and the affiliated Trade Union Congress. The unions have said they will appear in court, but have pledged to proceed with the strike regardless. There are also fears that the strike, supported by oil workers’ unions Pengassan and Nupeng, could disrupt Nigeria’s oil exports. "There won’t be activities on the rigs. Loading will not take place at the terminals," a Pengassan official told the Agence France Presse news agency. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and a member of the Opec cartel, pumped 2.7 million barrels of oil a day last month, compared with global daily demand of about 73 million barrels. Razia Khan, Africa analyst at Standard Chartered bank, told the BBC that any disruption to Nigeria’s exports would reinforce fears of global shortages, which last week pushed US oil prices to a record high of over $42 a barrel. "Disruption would mean further pressure on the price of oil internationally," she said. Ms Khan added that the continuing stand-off between government and trade unions illustrated the political sensitivity of fuel prices in Nigeria. "It’s almost seen as a birthright to have access to cheaper fuel," she said. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |