Exploitation of Workers

national | worker & community struggles and protests | news report

Tuesday July 12, 2005 22:15

by Martin

Some information about companies exploiting migrant workers in Ireland

As well as Format (Dublin Port Tunnel) and Gama, there are a number of other companies known or suspected to be exploiting migrant workers. Cases heard in the Labour Court are not open to the public but here are a few scraps of information that have been made available to me. In many cases the exploitation is being carried on by sub-contractors / agencies in the workers’ home country.

ZRE (Zaklad Remontowy Energetyki), with an address in Katowice, Poland, told its employees that standard working time in Ireland was 250 hours a month. ZRE employed people on the Shannonbridge (Offaly) Electric Power Station and in Lough Ree Power in Lannesborough in late 2003 and early 2004. Welders were paid €1,400 for a 250 hour month (€5.60 per hour).
The Organisation of Working Time Act (1997) sets a maximum average working week of 48 hours, calculated over four months. There are exceptions, for example, in industrial activity where work cannot, for technical reasons, be interrupted.

Aluglass (with an address in Deansgrange, Dublin)
Among the terms of their contracts with foreign workers are the following (late 2004):

Net basic monthly pay: 1,000 euros plus a 295 euro bonus.
Workers forfeit 1/10 of their monthly pay for every day they are absent from work.
Working hours:
Weekdays: 7.30 am - 5.30 pm
Weekends: 7.30 am – 2.00 pm
Annual holidays: 10 days

Tesco is being taken taken to court by SIPTU for sacking a Polish employee without giving justification. This, and complaints that Polish workers were not being paid the bonuses available to Irish workers doing the same work, have been reported in the (mainstream) Polish press.

Atlanco, which employed Portuguese workers in Northern Ireland, has also been in the news for the wrong reasons, though not of late. UTV’s Insight team ("From Portugal to Portadown") investigated them in 2002 and the Institute for Conflict Research's "Migrant Workers in Northern Ireland" reported that, among other things, Atlanco pays less than the minimum rate and deducts rent directly from wages, meaning the more hours worked the more rent is paid. See http://www.research.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/migrantworkers.pdf

P.S.
Some of you may have seen an item on the six o’clock news on RTE 1 on Monday July 11th about the exploitation of Latvian workers on a mushroom farm whose name the journalists skilfully managed to avoid mentioning, though they did film one of the Latvian employees. Anybody know the name of the farmer?

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Comments (6 of 6)

Latvian workers

by Pol

Wed Jul 13, 2005 15:45

I'm not sure if this is the same story, but it's shocking nonetheless:
"Donegal (Buncrana CIC) 30/09/04
A Latvian woman has been on a work permit in Ireland since May 2003. She was working on a mushroom farm from 6.00am to 11,00pm every day. She requested overtime pay from her employer and was fired on the spot without pay. She was owed nearly a full weeks wages and the information worker encouraged her to return to the farm to demand the money owed. Her employer gave her €60 and told her to get out. The information worker directed her to the local Jobs Club but they told her to apply for Unemployment Assistance (UA). She is not eligible for UA. She was told that it would take a couple of weeks for a decision on UA to come through but she was not informed that she is not eligible for UA."
The source is: http://www.comhairle.ie/social/social_update_2004part3.html

Work in ZRE Katowice (Poland and Ireland)

by Worker ZRE Katowice (Poland)

Wed Dec 21, 2005 21:42

I have been working in Poland in Zre Katowice for about ten years. All the time we have to working overtime. I have to work 10 to 12 hours a day with pay 1,25 Euro for an hour. In Ireland we have to work 250 hours a month for pay 5 Euro for an hour. Most people in our company want to work in Ireland because in Poland we earn less than in Ireland (but we dont want to work abroad and overtime).

ZRE Katowice

by searcher

Tue Mar 14, 2006 23:13

Why is this only coming up now on a national news, was it involved in a court case?

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/03/14/story249142.html

Union Agitation

Thu Mar 16, 2006 16:43

I have just seen on the RTE website that the pay for ZRE Katowice workers is being "corrected". The TEEU had accused the employer (you and I - the taxpayer) of underpaying.

You read it on indymedia first!

http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0316/esb.html

WORKERS EXPLOITATION TRUE

by Polish worker's son

Sun Mar 19, 2006 21:36

My Dad has been working in ZRE KATOWICE Ireland LTD and all what is being reported by TEEU is TRUE.
The workers are being paid really few pennies for hard work and what is more their contracts had to be terminated in Poland so in other words there is no option but to work in Ireland - stay away from home and being exploited to maximum. They must live very humble to still make this forced journey paid off and send monies to their families in Poland. I feel ashamed that this hell was made by Poles to Poles. There is no justice for such people...
I think it is not only dishonour for Poles but the issue of recurring such incidents just in Ireland.

employee issues

by unknown - ZRE Katowice

Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:37

Hi

I was employed with ZRE Katowice, I must admit that what was going on during my time with the company was pretty bad. I worked with the company in Co Clare Ireland on the MERP Project at a Management level.

The low pay, no respect and an attitude of get the job done or go home was a step back to what would have happened in the 30s

At first the employees, over 200 at the time were only getting payed just over 5 euro an hour and this was for skilled trades people, welders fitters etc

It was only when the Irish Union stepped in was there any kind of change and the employees started getting payed what there fellow Irish trades people were getting.

The ZRE employees were also getting money taken out of there pay packet for such things as Safe Pass courses, which by law the company has to pay as it falls under "Duty of Care".

One question that needs to be asked however, is why was a lagre Polish company given such a large contract yet no investigation was under taken by the Irish Government prior to ZRE commencing the contract.

This problem occured in more ways than one, no wonder the contract is way way way behind its completion date.

"food for thought"

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Comments (6 of 6)