ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: The secretary-general of All Pakistan Federation of Labour, M. Zahoor Awan, has expressed his dismay over 117 per cent increase in salaries and allowances of the members of the National Assembly.

In a statement issued at a Press conference on Sunday, he said this increase was a tragic joke with millions of workers whose wages were fixed at Rs2,500 in August 2001.

He regretted that the representative of the people, while allowing increase in their salaries, did not bother to think about the millions of down-trodden workers.

Mr Awan demanded that the government should seriously contemplate to enhance the wages of workers, if not by 117 percent but at least 50 per cent.

He further demanded that the government should announce a special package for needy widows, orphans, sick and disabled persons. In case, no positive step is taken by the government, the trade union bodies would launch a campaign against present raise in salaries of the Assembly members.

He claimed that the government had done nothing for the down-trodden sections of the society so that they and their children could enjoy the Eid festivities.

An over-whelming majority of the members of the Assembly belong to elite class, who spend millions of rupees to get themselves elected and assets of most of them run in millions and of some in billions of rupees, he said, adding that the current increase would simply widen the gulf between the rich and the poor and make the rich richer, while the poor would become poorer.

“The current wave of increase in salaries and wages, started initially with abnormal increase in the pay and allowances of the president.