A driver working on the Dublin Port Tunnel development at Fairview claims there is widespread discrimination against foreign workers operating trucks owned by a firm subcontracted to remove earth from the site.
He is among a number of workers who have also raised concerns about the safety of some of the trucks being used at the site. They also claim they are subject to bullying and harassment when they raise issues of safety, pay and conditions.
The driver, Mr Henry Strydom, from Zimbabwe, says about a dozen vehicles are used on the contract, mainly 20-tonne tipper trucks.
He says he and a number of his colleagues from South Africa and Poland receive half the union rate of pay, that they do not receive overtime rates and that the trucks they drive are not roadworthy.
The drivers in question work for a Newbridge, Co Kildare-based company trading as B and S, which is subcontracted to remove material from the tunnel dig at Fairview.
Mr Strydom and the South African men obtained their jobs through a South African-based agency but so far many of them have not been given work permits as promised.
Mr Strydom says that the agency has a contact number in Ireland but his calls are received by an answering machine and that he never gets a return call despite leaving several messages.
He also says he has never been given a pay slip in the six weeks he has worked for the company and that he receives his pay weekly, in "two or three small cheques".
He says he does not know how much he is paying in tax and social insurance but that his take-home pay for working 60 hours per week is €380.
He says he also receives a €65 rent allowance.
The allowance pays the rent for the house he and five of his colleagues live in. He says around six other foreign workers working with B and S live in a nearby house in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
Their accommodation and transport to and from work are arranged by B and S.
Mr Strydom says the men work from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch break. He says they are brought to and from work in one van which has neither windows nor ventilation.
He says he has raised safety concerns on a number of occasions but action was not always taken.
Last Thursday, Mr Strydom was pulled in by gardaí who checked his vehicle and found it to have seven defects including a broken tachometer and no proof of insurance or roadworthiness. He says a number of other drivers have had similar experiences and have been told by gardaí to present documentation at stations in Co Kildare.
He says his colleagues have been unable to obtain the correct certification despite making several requests to B and S and are concerned about their legal position. He believes there are outstanding fines against some drivers.
Mr Stephen O'Sullivan of B and S denies the workers' claims and describes them as "militant". "As far as we are concerned they are overpaid. They get their home, they get free heating and electricity and we provide them with transport to work," Mr O'Sullivan said.
"If they were any good they would still be in their own country, some of them are good workers but a lot are just here to suck the system," he added.
He also rejected claims that the vehicles were faulty and said he employs a full-time mechanic at Fairview and regular checks are performed on site.
"We haven't had one prosecution for a faulty truck or tyre since we started there \ in 1998," he said. However, it is understood that Kildare gardaí have detected faults on B and S vehicles on a number of occasions over the past two years.
"This has been a nightmare from start to finish," Mr Strydom told The Irish Times.
The workers have been in contact with SIPTU's construction branch officer, Mr Mick Finnegan, who says regulations in relation to safety and workers' rights are being broken wholesale.
"On the pay issue the company haven't disputed it," Mr Finnegan said.
"A number of people have made the allegations to me and I have no reason to disbelieve them," he added.
A meeting on the workers' pay and conditions involving SIPTU, B and S and the main contractor, Mowlem, has been arranged for tomorrow.