Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy has said that the proposal by the Low Pay Commission to increase the minimum wage by 50 cent is "inexplicable" given the "economic evidence available".
In a statement, McCoy said that "prices across the economy are below where they were in 2008 and the real value of the minimum wage has actually increased during the crisis.
"The knock-on impact of a rise on wage expectations across the economy is a real concern. In the boom years Irish labour costs drifted way out of line with competitor economies. We ultimately paid a very high price in terms of job losses and business closures. We risk making the same short-sighted mistakes all over again."
Ibec said that the case for a wage increase 'simply does not stack up' and could erode Ireland's competitiveness.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
