A new Bill aimed at increasing protections for migrant workers was yesterday severely criticised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), which claimed it fell far short of what was promised.
The Employment Permits Bill, published by the Government in June, proposes fines of up to €50,000, or five years in prison, for employers found guilty of exploiting migrant workers.
However, launching a new policy paper yesterday on migration policy and the rights of workers, Ictu said the Bill did not provide sufficient protection for workers.
Its legislation and public affairs officer, Esther Lynch, said the Bill was "really bad law" and "key amendments" would be needed if the Government was to deliver on its promises in the area. For example, she said, the Bill had not delivered on a promised change of ownership of work permits for all employees.
In many cases, employers would continue to apply for permits, which meant the workers concerned would be disempowered in a number of respects. They would not, for example, have direct access to information on the reasons why a permit had been granted or refused.
Knowing that it was the employer's choice whether to apply for a work permit or not also made workers more vulnerable than necessary, she said.
In what Minister for Employment Micheál Martin has described as a significant change, the Bill proposes that work permits would be held by employees rather than employers, as is the case at present.
Ms Lynch claimed the Minister appeared to believe that all that was being sought was that workers would hold their own permits "in their hands".
"If that is what he thought, then that is a worry. He needs to make good on the promise that people would own their own permission to work, independent of their employer."
Ms Lynch also claimed the Bill was unnecessarily complex and that too many of its measures were discretionary.
Ictu hopes to meet Mr Martin to outline its concerns about the Bill. The treatment of migrant workers in general is also to be a priority issue for Ictu in any talks on a new national partnership agreement.
General secretary David Begg said Congress wanted to see the introduction of a "coherent" immigration policy, rather than the current narrow focus on labour market considerations.
In a separate development yesterday, the Labour Relations Commission published a study on the use by migrant workers of dispute resolution agencies in 2002 and 2003.
It found that the hotel and catering industry accounted for 31 per cent of all migrant worker claims to the Rights Commissioner service.
Other areas of employment that featured strongly were farming, contract cleaning, construction and security.
LIKE A SLAVE: migrant stories
Quotes from migrant workers in case studies published by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions yesterday. Names were changed by Ictu to protect identity.
"William", chef from Romania:
I moved to Ireland in 2001 on a work permit. Since then I have had five or six jobs. In my last job I started on €2 an hour.
When [ my employer] told me that migrant workers are covered by different employment legislation than Irish workers, I believed him.
"Sarah", domestic worker from Sri Lanka:
The December 2004 tsunami has destroyed my family's land, and my father and uncles have no work. I have to stay here so I can send money to them.
One day [ my employer] threw a wet dirty cloth at my face and told me to clean the floors. Her children sat at the kitchen table laughing at me. I cried and went to my room.
Later that day I saw the children throw clothes at each other pretending it was me. It was like I was a slave, and they were playing target practice.
"Akeem", asylum-seeker from Nigeria:
[ My employer, a farmer] paid me just over €2 an hour to pick fruit and stones and do other general work. I worked long hours . . . I worked until my hands bled.
