ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, has voiced its support for Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe in the ongoing public sector pay talks.
The association said Mr Donohoe is right to "stand his ground" and must continue to hold firm against what ISME described as "unreasonable expectations" from trade unions.
Pay talks ended without agreement in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Government had proposed a deal that would see wages increase by around 8.5% over two-and-a-half years but it is understood unions were looking for cumulative increases worth around 12.5%.
Mr Donohoe has described the pay offer as very fair and very significant but unions said the proposal was not credible as it failed to recognise that there had been a shortfall in pay against inflation in the previous pay agreement.
Both sides have said they are prepared to return to the talks table and negotiations are expected to resume this week.
ISME said today that while all workers have suffered the effects of inflation over the last two years, workers in the public service have greater levels of protection and job security.
"ISME acknowledges that trade union officials have a difficult job to do, and that they face loud calls from their members on a daily basis," said Neil McDonnell, the chief executive of ISME.
"However, a one-size-fits-all solution is no longer appropriate in dealing with our public sector," Mr McDonnell said.
"We acknowledge that there is a recruitment and retention issue in some areas of the public service, but not in all," he added.
