Madam, - Your Editorial of February 1st says the presence of foreign workers is "both good for the economy and good for society". Indeed, if all things were equal. Unfortunately they are not. Too many companies are employing too many foreign workers with too few hours and too little pay.
This is good for the economy. Such companies enjoy a competitive advantage; their workforce is flexible and cheap. However, it is not good for society.
The indigenous workforce will resent lower wages and standards while migrant workers become locked in a vicious circle.
Their lower wages are maintained by loopholes in the minimum wage legislation: workers are not entitled to the minimum wage unless they have two years' employment experience since turning 18, while their flexibility is maintained by the provision of too few hours-per-week of scheduled work.
High rents and living costs require them to compete with each other for any additional hours. Consequently, voices of discontent are silenced - no one wants to stand out for the wrong reason. We end up with a resentful indigenous workforce and an exploited foreign workforce, the two disunited and both without a voice.
No one will benefit from the erection of barriers. The free market has been good for our economy and our society. However, liberalisation will not address these new challenges. We need to encourage integration, and in the workplace trade unionism is the most effective working model.
Unfortunately, trade union membership has failed to keep up with the burgeoning new workforce and is falling among the indigenous workforce. We cannot afford to wait until the economy encounters difficulties; we need to reverse this trend now. - Yours, etc,
ROBBIE ROULSTON, Ardmeen Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin.