A Labour Court decision that employers must take extra care to uphold the rights of migrant workers has been welcomed as "groundbreaking" by the Equality Authority.
In the decision, reported last month in The Irish Times, the court awarded €15,000 to a Nigerian woman who was sacked by Campbell Catering.
Ms Aderonke Rasaq had been wrongfully accused of stealing bananas from the kitchen of a hostel in Parnell Square, Dublin, where she worked as a catering assistant.
The court found that she was not afforded fair procedures by the company and upheld her complaint that she was discriminated against because of her race. It added that employers had a duty, when implementing disciplinary procedures, to ensure that all workers fully understood what was alleged against them, the gravity of the alleged misconduct and their right to mount a full defence.
Special measures, it said, may be necessary in the case of non-national workers to ensure that this obligation is fulfilled.
The court said that applying the same procedural standards to non-national workers, as would be applied to an Irish national, could amount to discrimination, given the special difficulties migrant workers faced such as language and cultural differences.
The Equality Authority chief executive, Mr Niall Crowley, said the decision was "important and groundbreaking" as it acknowledged that cultural and linguistic diversity had practical implications for employment practices and procedures. It placed a requirement on employers that they take action to accommodate this diversity.
The case also highlighted the discrimination experienced by many migrant workers, he said. The authority was currently working on 90 case files involving alleged discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of race.
"They cover issues that include working conditions, dismissal, equal pay, access to employment and harassment."
Mr Crowley said migrant workers were key to continuing growth in the Irish economy, but the authority's caseload indicated they were experiencing high levels of discrimination.
"That is bad for the economy, for business and for migrant workers. We need to invest more in ensuring migrant workers know their rights and have access to adequate supports if they are to continue to make their contribution to the Irish economy."
