A member of the House of Representatives in American Samoa, Mase Akapo, says the voice of the working people has been absent from the debate on the minimum wage law.
And he's hopeful workers will make their views heard at the field hearing of the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs this Friday.
Mase says the cost of living is high and low income earners need a wage hike to make ends meet.
He says businesses have voiced their concerns about the Federal directive to increase wages annually until they reach the level on the US mainland but the Fono has not heard from the workers.
Mase says cannery employees are struggling with basic necessities in the face of high electricity costs and food prices.
