"Continuing heavy annual increases are simply not sustainable"

In a submission made to the government's Low Pay Commission, the CBI said the minimum wage would have risen by 27% since 2002 - faster than average wage growth of 18%.

"The minimum wage has improved living standards for many workers, but continuing heavy annual increases are simply not sustainable," CBI director of HR policy Susan Anderson said.

"We hope that [in 2007] the rise will be more modest so that employers can consolidate costs to date and restore the vital differentials in pay that have been flattened by the minimum wage which encourage people to train and take on extra responsibilities in the workplace."

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Directors' pay at Britain's top companies soared by 28% last year, more than seven times the rate of average pay and 11 times the current rate of inflation. The 2005 rise in boardroom earnings is the biggest in a series of substantial increases. The previous year directors' pay rose 16%, following rises of 13% and 23%.