Organised labour in Kwara State has berated petroleum products marketers in the state for what it described as incessant hike in the prices of premium motor spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products in the state.
It said the research carried out recently showed that the pump price of fuel in Kwara is higher than what is obtainable in the neighbouring states, adding that the arbitrary increase is unjustifiable since the state is close to Lagos State where petroleum products are uploaded.
The chairman of the state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Ore and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Joseph Tunde, said this in a joint statement issued in Ilorin, the state capital.
The organised labour, which noted that the hike in the petroleum products is telling on the income/salaries of workers, urged the government to deploy its machinery to look into the unstable price of PMS and other petroleum products in the state.
The labour movement took a swipe at the independent marketers of petroleum products for their unethical practice that had precipitated hardship for the masses.
The statement reads: “The organized labour in Kwara State under the auspices of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) wishes to felicitate the entire workforce and the citizens of Kwara State on the occasion of Christmas celebration.
“However, the movement wishes to draw the attention of the state government to the incessant increase in the price of PMS and other petroleum products by the independent marketers in the state.
“The research carried out by the labour revealed that the cost of pump price in Kwara State is higher than the cost of the product in neighbouring states despite the fact that the state is very close to Lagos State where the marketers upload the products.”
