Bread Makers and Gurasa Bakers Association, Kano State chapter, have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if IRS, BUA, Super, and others refuse to reverse the price of flour.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Chairperson of the bakers association, Fatima Auwalu, announced on Wednesday, a week after they called off a three-day warning strike.
Auwalu said nothing has changed since they called off the warning strike, prompting them to embark on indefinite industrial action until authorities and stakeholders do the needful.
She said all Gurasa bakers in the state are counting losses due to the recurring increase in the price of flour, which is the primary ingredient for making one of the local staple foods.
Gurasa is a Kano indigenous local bread made up of flour that serves as one of the delicacies used by Hausa people in the state.
The Chairperson pointed out that not long ago, the price of flour was N9,500, but now it has reached N16,200, calling on the companies to reverse the price to N9,000 or shut down the business.
She also lamented that apart from the increase in the price of flour, the quality of the product has been reduced, saying, “this has negatively impacted our business.”
“Since calling off the warning strike, we thought the price would reduce, but to our dismay, the price is instead going up day by day.
“The three-day strike had inflicted hardship on our customers and us, but we could not do anything to resolve this problem but to take industrial action to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to bring a lasting solution to the problem.
Auwalu disclosed that the association had decided to call off the strike because of the intervention of the Kano state Commissioner of Police and other agencies.
“We (Bakers) usually use IRS flour, BUA, Golden Confectionery and Super Flour. These are the only three brands that we used always. But we’re in a difficult situation because our business has become the shadow of its former self due to the hike in flour price.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu and other stakeholders to reverse the price of flour quickly, or we shut our business down. If we shut it down, it will not affect us alone. It will affect many people in this state and the North as a whole,” she warned.
Another Gurasa baker, Usaina Adamu, said they had been forced to embark on the indefinite strike because their warning action did not yield desired results.
“We called on the stakeholders to do the needful in a bid to control the situation, but it is rather deteriorating.
“We, therefore, call on Abdulsamad, IRS and other companies too as a matter of urgency reverse the price of flour to N9000, or we go on indefinite strike. They should know that thousands have relied on this business. If we shut it down, a lot will suffer,” she warned.
On his part, Umar Badamasi, Vice-Chairman of Gurasa Sellers Association, expressed surprise at how the daily increase in the price of flour.
In reaction to the development, Bread sellers also cried out on the uncontrollable price increase, adding that so many people can not afford a loaf of bread. The Gurasa, which is their only choice, is becoming unaffordable.