PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - Inflation should not be used as the reason to deny workers a minimum wage of RM900 as the people are suffering, given their low purchasing power, said Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud.

'If they say higher salaries will cause inflation, what about last year when civil servants received a pay rise between 7.5% and 40%? Did the Government not take inflation into account then? Weren't the prices of goods already escalating before the pay rise was announced?

'This is a weak argument. Are you saying that it doesn't matter that people are suffering as long as it doesn't affect inflation?' he said.

Syed Shahir was commenting on a statement yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the Government was studying MTUC's minimum wage request but could not introduce it at the moment given its varied effects, including on inflation.

'People in the lower rung are suffering and prices of essential items have increased.

'Our concern is not whether the pay increases or decreases but the purchasing power. A person who earned RM800 some 20 years ago and a person who earns RM1,600 now has the same purchasing power,' he added.

He said they were not just seeking a RM900 minimum wage across the board but also a RM300 living allowance for all workers and an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act, which he claims was unfair to workers.

MTUC is the single largest union umbrella which represents both the public and private sectors in the country. It has over 240 unions with almost half-a-million membership, he said.

Syed Shahir said MTUC's gathering at Parliament this Wednesday is not a picket or demonstration but a peaceful assembly by a group of people who are merely expressing their concerns.

'We will be sending a memorandum to the Prime Minister and to the MPs. We have a right to express ourselves.

'We are not going to disturb the public but we just want to hand over the memorandum,' he added.