Minimum wage 10c rise call slammed

A recommended 10c increase in the national minimum wage — outlined to government yesterday and due to be considered as part of the October Budget package — has been widely-slammed as being anti-business and potentially damaging to Ireland’s competitiveness.

The Low Pay Commission’s latest recommendation is for a 10c increase from the €9.15 per hour rate introduced at the start of the year and will be “considered in detail”, Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell-O’Connor said.

However, the Small Firms Association said an increase is “unjustified” at a time when the country’s economic recovery risks destabilisation by the UK’s vote to leave the EU and immediately called on the Government to reject the idea.