The Government's inaction sends a message that we are willing to sacrifice workers' rights, writes Arthur Morgan
A new underclass of exploited workers has emerged in Ireland. Among those bearing the brunt of this exploitation are migrant workers. Their plight is largely unseen and unheard. This exploitation has been facilitated by a very lax attitude from Government to this growing feature of post-Celtic tiger Ireland. The Government's inaction has sent a loud and clear message to unscrupulous employers that they can cut costs by ignoring their legal obligations to workers and face little or no penalties.
There is ample evidence to demonstrate this lax attitude by the authorities. Figures obtained by Sinn Féin from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment show a significant decline in labour inspections between 2002-2005 despite an increase in the working population, and a very low rate of prosecutions.
For example, there were a mere five prosecutions initiated between 2000 and the end of 2005 for breaches of the National Minimum Wage Act.
Not long after the social partners concluded their new partnership deal, which contains welcome proposals to strengthen employment rights and compliance, I was contacted regarding yet another case of exploitation. South African workers who were being paid just over €2.50 an hour to put safety belts in Bus Éireann's fleet sought my assistance.
These workers, who are effectively working for the State, were being paid well below the minimum wage. This case is not dissimilar to the case of the migrant workers refurbishing the ESB's Moneypoint power station who were being paid well below the minimum wage.
This is unacceptable and should be a wake-up call for anyone who thought that things had changed in the aftermath of the enormous publicity surrounding the exploitation of the Turkish workers at Gama Construction. Public procurement rules must ensure companies who breach employment law are ineligible for public contracts and ineligible for subcontracts on such contracts.
So what is the solution? The proposals in the new social partnership agreement come after 18 months of sustained revelations of worker exploitation. It is not unreasonable to question why measures to strengthen enforcement and compliance have had to await the conclusion of social partnership talks.
Was the Government holding back inevitable measures to improve enforcement and compliance in order to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations with unions? If so, and I believe this to be the case, vulnerable workers have been forced to endure exploitation, low pay and bad working conditions while these talks dragged on. What will happen to these workers if the deal is rejected on the basis that it fails the low paid in particular - would these proposed measures to curb exploitation be withdrawn by the Government?
Employers who violate employment law must be subject to stringent penalties. The increases proposed in the new social partnership deal do not go far enough.
Sinn Féin is proposing that a penalty point system to deal with "rogue" employers and companies that consistently transgress employment law be introduced. Under such a system companies which clock up a specified threshold of penalty points would face removal from the company register by the Companies Registration Office (CRO). This would be based on an existing sanction, available to the CRO in respect of companies who fail to file annual returns.
Sinn Féin has challenged the Minister to introduce provisions to ensure that a proportion of new labour inspectors are from migrant worker communities or that proficiency in a major migrant language would be a positive factor in the recruitment of new inspectors. This is not happening. Sinn Féin has also called for the introduction of a toll-free 24-hour workers' rights helpline. No sign of this either.
It is clear that there are those within the State - both in Government, Opposition and in the business community - who are willing to sacrifice the rights of workers for competitiveness. Much of the economic growth in the State is now being sustained on the back of inequality and exploitation. This is unacceptable. The current model of weak labour regulation and non-enforcement must be replaced with comprehensive regulation and stringent enforcement.
Government, employers and unions must work together to stamp out exploitation once and for all.
Arthur Morgan is a Sinn Féin TD for Louth