Michele O'Neil is set to become the first ACTU president since Bob Hawke in the 1970s to address a minimum wage case before the industrial umpire.
Ms O'Neil will present the union movement's case, for a six per cent rise or about $43 a week, to a Fair Work Commission hearing in Sydney on Wednesday.
"The minimum wage should not just be enough to stop you starving, it should be enough to provide for a decent life for all full-time workers," she said in a statement.
Labor has pledged if elected to government it would ask the commission to examine the idea of a "living wage".
"The Morrison government has attacked workers and done nothing to lift their wages for six years. We need to change the government to change the rules for low income workers," Ms O'Neil said.
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The business sector is arguing the minimum wage should be lifted by two per cent this year, marking an increase of about $14.40 per week to the current level of $719.20.
Business groups say a hike of six per cent would destroy jobs and threaten economic growth.
