Serbian workers owed up to €40,000, union claims

Workers employed by a company working on one of the country's largest infrastructural projects are owed up to €40,000 each in pay arrears, according to the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU).

In a case described as "worse than Moneypoint", the TEEU has revealed that until last October, employees of Energoprojekt Oprema a.d. - a Belgrade-based company carrying out work on the ESB's €3 billion networks renewal programme - were being paid as little as €4.96 an hour, far short of their full entitlement.

The union initially raised the issue with the ESB and with the main contractor on the site, Laing O'Rourke Utilities (Ireland), last summer and subsequently secured an agreement with the Serb company to pay the correct rates to the company's 96 employees.

The TEEU contends that although correct rates are now being paid, the company has refused to pay what is owed to the workers in arrears.

The union has called for a commitment from the Government that its members will not be deported and that their employment rights will be fully vindicated

It has also alleged that some of the workers concerned have been told that if they do not accept terms of €1,000 each - substantially less than those they are entitled to - they will never work again in Ireland or in their home country.

The shortfall, according to the TEEU, is €315.58 per week, or €16,410 a year. Some employees have up to three years' service and would be entitled to as much as €40,000.

Speaking in Dublin today, TEEU General Secretary Owen Willis said he had been in touch with Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin, and that he had assigned a senior official from his department to monitor the situation.

He added "We believe the time has come to make salutary examples of employers who flout the law. Unfortunately, maverick employers see how lightly Gama got off, even being awarded new public sector contracts after its abuses were exposed."

A spokesman for Laing O'Rourke Utilities Ireland said the company is committed to being a responsible employer with all its employees on the ESB project, both Serbian and Irish, being paid in accordance with National Agreements and Standards.

"The hourly rates of pay have always been in the range of €17-€19 per hour paid by Energo Projekt to its operatives," he said.

"Energo Projekt has had an agreement in place with the TEEU since October 2005 which covers pay and conditions. The only thing that has changed at that time was the structure of the payslips as negotiated and agreed between Energo and the TEEU.

"Laing O'Rourke Utilities Ireland has monitored and audited compliance of this agreement. Indeed, it has jointly monitored and audited compliance of this agreement with the TEEU.

"In addition, the Labour Inspectorate have conducted an audit of pay and conditions for Energo operatives and no issue has arisen from these inspections."