New minimum wage of €11.30 set to be introduced in January, but union officials wanted it increased to €12 per hour

It is understood that Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) nominees Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin and Michael Taft rejected the proposal, set to be signed off by Cabinet today.

The worker nominees wrote a minority report they said would provide the Government with an “alternative and superior” recommendation.

The minimum wage is currently €10.50 an hour. Sources said they sought an extra €1.50, to bring the basic statutory pay rate to €12 an hour.

They claimed the commission’s recommendation of an 80 cent hike “fails to vindicate the living standards of low-paid workers and threatens the introduction of a living wage”.

However, Government sources said the 80c boost recommended by the commission would be one of the biggest increases ever in the legally- binding minimum wage.

The Government intends to phase in a living wage to replace the minimum wage by 2026

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is expected to get approval for the recommendation to lift the hourly rate to €11.30 from January 1 next year.

The Low Pay Commission recommended the 80 cent increase in a report earlier this year. It is made up of worker and business representatives and independent experts.

Sources said the commission said the national minimum wage alone could not compensate workers for inflation and recent increases in the cost of living. The minimum wage will be increased from January 1 to coincide with necessary changes to USC and PRSI.

The commission recommended that additional measures be taken to support low-paid workers.

For the first time in its report, the commission said the national living wage should be €13.10 next year, although it is voluntary for employers to offer this.

The Government intends to phase in a living wage to replace the minimum wage by 2026, when it will become mandatory. Mr Varadkar will return to cabinet to sign off on the living-wage plan next month.

When asked to comment on the Ictu nominees’ report, its head of social policy Laura Bambrick said they “could not in all conscience justify recommending an 80 cent increase to the hourly pay of our lowest-paid workers”.

She added: “It amounts to a cut in real terms – a 7.6pc increase with inflation currently at 8.7pc. It will move us further away from a living wage than where we were at in 2021.”

The new rate will be welcomed by thousands of workers in receipt of the €10.50-an-hour minimum wage. However, businesses struggling with energy costs will be concerned about the impact of the increase.

An Ibec spokesperson was not available for comment.