By Bimbola Oyesola 08033246177, [email protected]
Organised labour in the food sector at the weekend raised the alarm that millions of Nigerians would lose their jobs if the Federal Government goes ahead with the proposed excise duty on carbonated drinks.
The National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) also warned that this would further exacerbate the sensitive security problem the nation has been contending with for some years now.
President of NUFBTE, Lateef Idowu Oyelekan, declared that it would be beneficial for government to have a rethink, as the companies producing the products were among of the mainstay of the nation’s economy in spite of prevailing challenges.
“The soft drinks companies and breweries are the ones providing jobs for Nigerians and, with their planned expansions, that means more jobs for Nigerians.
“Seven-Up have over 10 locations in the country and have told us of their expansion plan in their production lines at each plant, same for Nigerian Bottling Company and others”, he said.
Oyelekan said the Nigerian government should rather be seen creating a conducive environment for the companies to create more jobs for the citizens, rather than overburdening them with taxes.
He reasoned that the companies provide direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians, from permanent and casual employees, suppliers and distributors to those selling the products in retail shops, and all these run into several millions.
He said, “The disadvantage of this is that it would increase the cost of production from the companies and this will be passed on to the consumers. It will invariably make the cost of these products go up and with the present inflation, it means that many Nigerians will not be able to afford it.
“Should that happen, the company would have no choice than to lay off workers, some may have to reduce production lines, instead of expansion, while some may even close down permanently. It has happened in the past. At the end, Nigerians are the ones that will suffer.”
The NUFBTE president said the companies were already looking outside Nigeria for alternate production of their products and would rather move to a more favourable business climate in the West African region.
According to him, the union’s investigation revealed that more employers in the sector were conducting surveys on the probability of moving to Ghana and other countries in the sub-region.
“Initially, Seven-Up had only one plant in Africa, which was Nigeria, but now it has another in Ghana. More of them now want to reduce their operations in Nigeria and move to Ghana. Our government should not take it with levity because that’s how Michelin, Dunlop and others moved to Ghana and still bring back the products to Nigeria to sell,” he lamented.
He reasoned that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) would even make it worse, as Nigeria would have no control over the products, but noted that Nigerians could benefit better if its manufacturing companies are doing better.
“Our employers have been very supportive. Recently, we engaged them through our National Joint Industrial Consultative forum and, despite the hardship, they increased our salary by 24 per cent. They have passion for workers in the country. Our government should save our jobs and support the food sector to grow,” he said.