Five Brazilian workers at a Roscommon poultry company have been awarded €5,000 each by an equality tribunal after it found the company had failed in its duty of care to them as foreign employees, in part by making unlawful deductions from their wages.
However, an equality officer did not uphold their claims that they had been harassed and victimised by Hannon's Poultry Export Ltd, or deprived of equal pay in their roles as general operatives.
The five men worked at the company's poultry factory for varying periods between August 2000 and February 2001.
The complainants - Alfredo Costa Ramos, Rodrigo Lopes de Freitas, Leandro Andre Tinoco, Celso Alves Calisto and Ubirajara Alves Barros - had claimed discrimination on grounds of race.
They said money was deducted from their wages; that they were forced to work overtime; were threatened with dismissal when they attempted to leave unsuitable accommodation; and were paid less than two comparable Irish workers.
Joint hearings into the claims were held on September 18th, 2003, and April 7th, 2006.
The equality officer found that translated employment contracts were unavailable to the five; unlawful deductions were made from their wages; and some of them were permitted to work hours in breach of the Organisation of Working Time Act.
Hannon's Poultry had denied discrimination. It said working overtime was a condition of employment at the factory and that none of its employees was forced to live in accommodation provided by the company. It acknowledged that deductions from the complainants' wages were technically in breach of the law, as their written permission was not sought, but said the money was owed to the company and had since been refunded.
It also claimed that the difference in pay with the two Irish workers was based on grounds other than race, a claim which the equality officer upheld.
She ordered that the respondent pay each complainant €5,000 and review its employment procedures to ensure it meets its duty of care to foreign workers.