The main contractors building Dublin Port Tunnel have been instructed by the authorities to investigate allegations of discrimination against foreign workers operating trucks on the Fairview site.
Dublin City Council says it wants to see the investigation results as soon as possible. The council yesterday announced it was seeking an inquiry by a consortium of contractors on the tunnel who have sub-contracted a Kildare-based company trading as B and S to remove material from the tunnel dig.
Mr Henry Strydom, a Zimbabwean driver working for B and S, has claimed he and some colleagues from South Africa and Poland receive half the union rate of pay, are not paid overtime rates and are bullied and harassed when they raise concerns about safety, pay and conditions.
The company denies the workers' claims and describes them as "militant". Mr Stephen O'Sullivan from B and S said the men were overpaid and had been provided free electricity, heating and transport to work.