A call for the planned increase in the minimum wage to be deferred was described as "unbelievably selfish" yesterday by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
It said the call by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) was insulting to low-paid workers, and should be rejected out of hand.
The minimum wage is due to be increased from € 6.35 to € 7 an hour in February.
Mr Mark Staunton, president of the CCI, said many small companies were struggling to cope with sharp rises in insurance and wage bills, and the minimum wage rise would put them under unsustainable pressure.
He called for the increase to be phased in.
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) also expressed concern yesterday over the planned rise in the minimum rate.
However, the assistant general secretary of the ICTU, Ms Joan Carmichael, said the CCI and the ISME appeared to be competing for the "cheapskate of the year award".
She questioned whether the attitude to low-paid workers reflected in the CCI's call was representative of "ordinary business people" .
There had been no increase in the minimum wage since October 2002, she said.
"Low paid workers in the services and manufacturing sectors are making an enormous contribution to the production of wealth in Irish society," she said.
"To deny them a very small and overdue improvement in their share of that wealth suggests that, 160 years after A Christmas Carol was published, Scrooge is alive and well and heading up the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland."
