The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) national president, Joe Ajaero, has explained why they proposed ₦615,000 as the minimum wage to the federal government.

According to Ajaero, the union would have probably suggested ₦80,000 if the fuel subsidy was not removed.

Naija News recalls that the NLC President noted that governors can afford to pay the proposed ₦615,000 minimum wage if they get their priorities right.

During a courtesy visit to The Nation headquarters in Lagos on Thursday, May 9, Ajaero emphasized that the proposal to the government was influenced by the economic realities in the country.

He said though there were misconceptions about the proposal, the NLC arrived at the figure to make lives better for the workers.

Ajaero stated: “There are misconceptions about the proposed ₦615, 000, but we don’t have choice and if we are asked to represent it today it will increase. The tarrif was not there when we made the proposal but things are hard now.

“We looked at food, medicals, education, and other utilities. We didn’t make provision for communication, offering and the likes. Those are some of the things we took into cognisance before we arrived at ₦615,000.

“We think it is better for us to explain to Nigerians for them to understand us better. The removal of subsidy also affected everything. Probably, if the subsidy was not removed, we would have suggested ₦80,000.”