Siptu has claimed that hundreds of foreign nationals working in the construction sector are facing huge delays in having cases heard against employers for underpayment.
There have been instances of foreign workers returning home before their actions are heard at the Construction Industry Dispute Tribunal as they cannot afford to stay here, the union says.
The tribunal, which operates out of the Labour Relations Commission, was established under the 2005 Registered Employment Agreement specifically to deal with construction disputes because of the huge backlog of cases before the Labour Court and Rights Commissioner.
The Labour Court and Rights Commissioner still deal with some construction industry disputes as they are governed by statutory legislation.
In December 2005, Siptu lodged two cases to the tribunal alleging underpayment of foreign workers of between €6,000 and €7,000 each.
Eight months later a date has still not been set for the hearings. Siptu has received only a receipt of their applications from the tribunal which has been seen by The Irish Times.
A Latvian national at the centre of one of the cases has left Ireland as he could no longer afford to stay.
"He's passed on his contact details in Latvia and we'll get in touch with him when we get a hearing date, but there's a good chance he won't be able to come back and that the case will be dropped," Brendan O'Brien of Siptu's Dublin construction branch, said. "That's what happens all the time. He's owed about €6,500."
A spokesman for the Labour Relations Commission conceded that an eight-month wait for a hearing date at the tribunal was "an inordinate delay" but added that he could not comment on individual cases.
He said hearings were only lengthily delayed if one of the parties indicated that they were unwilling to attend the tribunal. "If there are delays it's because of the unwillingness of parties to attend, not an administrative delay," he said.
If one party refuses to attend, the hearing cannot be held and the tribunal duly informs all parties.
He said refusal by a party to attend happened "in some cases" and that the union involved could then refer the case to the Labour Court, which can hear and adjudicate on cases without all parties present. Two months ago, the disputes tribunal had received about 40 applications since its establishment in 2005 and ideally cases should be dealt with within a week, the spokesman added.
Siptu's Dublin construction branch has referred 75 cases to the tribunal, Labour Court, Rights Commissioner and Employment Appeals Tribunal since January.
Meanwhile, the union has also expressed concern about a case lodged on behalf of four Polish workers to the Rights Commissioner for underpayment of wages last January.
On April 12th, Rights Commissioner Joan Carmichael found in favour of the workers. In her decision received by Siptu on June 20th, she ordered the contractor to pay the men €4,670 each in relation to underpayment of wages and compensation. The employer is appealing this decision.