The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has been accused of attempting to undermine draft EU legislation aimed at boosting workers' rights on minimum wages.
Labour Party Senator and Employment Rights Spokesperson Marie Sherlock described the legislation if enacted as potentially "the single most important development for workers rights in decades".
However, she described the intervention by the Tánaiste and eight fellow Member State ministers as "disingenuous", and a "direct and blatant attempt to hobble a directive before it ever gets off the ground".
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said that while Ireland supported the objectives of the Directive, it believed a recommendation would be a more appropriate legal instrument to give member states flexibility in how they dealt with the issues, and to avoid a "lowest common denominator" approach.
The Directive proposed by the EU Commission would force governments to provide for "adequate" minimum wages, along with a framework for collective bargaining to take place, where collective bargaining coverage stands below 70%.
Such a provision could affect Ireland, as collective bargaining coverage here stands at around 30%.
However, a letter to the EU Presidency signed by the Employment Rights ministers of 9 of the 27 member states queries whether the proposed legislation is compatible with EU Treaties, particularly on fundamental issues like subsidiarity and respect for national competences.
The signatories - including Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Malta and Poland - note that the proposal intends "to respect our wage formation systems and the autonomy of the social partners" but caution that "clarifications" will be needed to allow them to proceed with their analysis.
The Ministers suggest that a recommendation rather than a directive would be a "better legal instrument, which provides the flexibility for Member States to achieve the objectives of the proposal".
"It must be secured that long existing, well-functioning and balanced national social systems can continue working with their respective different policy mixes," they conclude.
However, Labour Senator Marie Sherlock described the intervention as an "unholy alliance" encompassing those who already had excellent collective bargaining coverage such as Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Estonia and those who were "anti- workers' rights" such as Hungary and Poland.
"By signing this letter, Ireland is firmly placing itself in the latter category," she said.
"Legal opinion from seven experts of the highest standing from across Ireland and in the UK unambiguously and very clearly stated that no such concerns arise. Only one legal opinion raised a concern," she claimed.
"This letter is a direct attack on the work of the German Presidency and it sets the Government against their own follow CDU member and Commission President Ursula van der Leyen who singled out the Commission's intent to set down a framework for the setting of adequate minimum wages across the EU in her State of the Union address," she continued.
Senator Sherlock urged Fianna Fáil and the Green Party to clarify whether they supported the Tánaiste and Fine Gael "...in blocking progress for workers in the country".
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment confirmed that Ireland supports the objectives of the proposed EU Directive.
However, the Government shares the view of some member states that a Council recommendation, rather than a directive, "is a preferred legal instrument as it would allow Member States greater flexibility in achieving its objectives".
"Along with the Nordic countries we are concerned that an EU law might result in a lowest common denominator approach to the minimum wage and workers' rights at a time when ours are better than the current EU average in most areas," the Department stated.
It cited the Tánaiste's record on workers' rights including introducing paid paternity leave and extending PRSI benefits to the self-employed, along with further commitments to make sick pay mandatory, and to make progress towards the introduction of a living wage.
The Department also noted that the current government and its predecessor introduced a number of increases to the minimum wage, resulting in Ireland now having the second highest minimum wage in the European Union.
