Madam, - Across the globe the move towards outsourcing and subcontracting of work is having a profoundly negative impact on employment relationships. These forms of employment reduce costs for employers but increase the costs for those doing the work.
Let us be clear what that means. Employers don't have to worry whether the people working on their premises are being paid properly, have an regular legal status, are not working dangerously long hours, and so on. The sub-contractors and agencies supplying the workers are invariably interested only in expanding their profits. They have little interest in the conditions of the workers they supply.
We regularly work with migrant workers who report severe exploitation, including being forced to work illegally. We have several cases of workers employed through subcontracting agencies who have found themselves cleaning Government offices and providing services in State-run institutions.
The core issue in the current debate surrounding Irish Ferries is that the company is attempting to restructure its employment arrangements. We need to remain focused on this issue and not scapegoat the workers being brought in. The reality for these workers is that they have been taken on by an agency and are simply fulfilling their own contractual agreement. Where they have ended up is outside their control - it could easily be cleaning the floors of a Government Department or packing the shelves of a major supermarket chain.
The Irish Ferries dispute has also highlighted the fundamental choice facing the Irish State. Do we want to be a socially and economically just society or a successful economy underpinned by the values of greed and profit-making at any cost? - Yours, etc,
SIOBHAN O'DONOGHUE, Director, BOBBY GILMORE, Chairperson, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, Dublin 1.