'Buying' jobs common for immigrants in Dublin

The practice of "buying" jobs is common among immigrants in low-paid work in Dublin, according to a new report.

Realising Integration, a survey carried out by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), showed that 68 per cent of migrant workers in low-paid work in the capital found their current jobs through friends.

Moreover, all participants at a focus group convened for the study said they were aware of the practice of paying friends or "gatekeepers" to get jobs. "This appears to be happening in all the sectors focused upon in the scoping exercise," the report states.

At one session, a Chinese student claimed that at least half the people he knows paid up to two weeks' wages to secure their jobs. He said: "It happens all the time. I know someone that paid money to get a job. The money was paid to one worker in [ the] company and split with [ the] manager, and then after one month they let [ the employee] go."

The report found that many immigrants were working below their educational level in Ireland, with 57 per cent of those surveyed having a third-level qualification and a further 41 per cent having attending secondary or vocational school. Rates of pay were found to be highest among manual labourers in the construction industry, but in many sectors - including hospitality, care workers and construction - there were some who were being paid below the minimum wage. "It is clear that undocumented workers and those in breach of their entry conditions were most prone to exploitation," the report says.

While 63 per cent of those questioned worked overtime on a regular basis, only a minority (18 per cent) received a higher rate of pay for their overtime hours. Just under a quarter (22 per cent) received sick pay.

Noting that some 40 per cent of participants earned €9 or less per hour, and 17 per cent earned less than the minimum wage, the authors pointed out that these workers were "clearly at risk of poverty and social exclusion and are living in situations with a minimum safety margin for dealing with unforeseen crises such as illness, temporary unemployment [ or] reduction in working hours."

While poor employment conditions were identified as a key concern, the report also identifies a general sense of isolation among many migrant workers.