Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen is expected to announce an increase in the national minimum wage before the end of the week.
It is understood that Mr Killeen will announce an increase in the minimum wage from €7.65 an hour to around €8.30 an hour from January 1st, with a further increase to take effect later next year.
The Cabinet discussed the matter yesterday but there are still some issues to be resolved including the exact increase and the timing of the second increase.
Last month the Labour Court issued recommendations on the national minimum pay rate to the Minister and advised an increase in the hourly rate of pay to €8.30 from January 1st and a further increase to €8.65 from July 1st.
Sources said last night that the exact increase would be decided today as well as the issue of the timing of the increases but it was expected that the increases would be close to the Labour Court recommendation.
Employer representative groups have been critical of the Labour Court proposals with Ibec, the largest business lobby, saying it would push up the cost of goods and services.
The organisation said that the 13 per cent increase envisioned under the recommendation was in excess of the national wage agreement and would mean the State would have the second highest minimum wage in Europe from next January.
Mark Fielding, chief executive of Isme, which represents mostly small business, has said the increase would be devastating for many small companies that had already experienced a 30 per cent average increase in business costs in the past three years.
The proposals were welcomed by Siptu, which said the increase should be even higher.
However, Mr Killeen said after the Labour Court recommendations were published that he would take into account the potential impact on employment, economic conditions and competitiveness when considering the recommended increases.
He said he was conscious of the deadlines to meet the wishes of the social partners that the minimum wage be adjusted from January 1st, 2007.
