Chancellor Gordon Brown is facing pressure not to water down proposals for a national minimum wage.

TUC general secretary John Monks warned the Treasury yesterday not to try to exempt workers under the age of 25 from the full #3.60 an hour now set to be proposed.

CBI director-general Adair Turner revealed that even his organisation was not in favour of ''blanket exemptions'' below the age of 25.

However, Mr Turner warned on BBC 1's On The Record that the lower rate had to be set at a level which did not create youth unemployment, and raised the prospect of part of the new provisions being phased in.

He warned: ''I think it is vitally important that, in setting this minimum wage, we don't do anything which creates youth unemployment.''

There has been speculation that the Treasury was considering exempting workers up to the age of 25 from a full, proposed minimum wage of #3.60 an hour.

But Mr Monks told On The Record that Ministers should accept proposals from the Low Pay Commission for an hourly rate of #3.60 for the over-21s and #3.20 for those aged 18 to 21.

The TUC boss called on the Government not to ''cherry-pick'' from the package as a whole and warned that his organisation would fight any such changes.

He said: ''There seem to be some indications that some people in the Treasury are unhappy, particularly about the #3.20 rate for the under-21s.

''We hope very much that they stick by the report that's coming out.''

Mr Monks added: ''We are very keen that, even though we don't like aspects of the report, that there's no cherry picking, picking and choosing by the Government.''

If that happened, the TUC would fight it, Mr Monks warned. ''We certainly will campaign against it,'' he declared.

Mr Monks emphasised his hopes that the Low Pay Commission would continue in being, to look at the rate over the years ahead. ''I am very keen that the Government doesn't mess about with that,'' he said.