Some 23 South African electricians were induced to come to Ireland last year but now find themselves with no means of support, it was claimed at the High Court yesterday.
A company had offered them well-paid jobs for at least a year doing work for Eircom.
Many of them were in court for an application by their counsel, Mr Frank Callanan SC, for liberty to bring proceedings next Monday for an interlocutory order restraining any move to terminate their contracts of employment and directing that out standing amounts due on their salaries be paid.
The proceedings are against Kelly Technical Services (Ireland) Ltd - KTS Ireland - of Claregalway, Co Galway, and Kelly Technical Services Ltd, London, and Mr Raymond Kelly and Mr Declan Kelly, directors of the two companies.
Mr Justice O'Sullivan granted liberty for short service of a notice of motion for the injunction, and for further orders restraining the Claregalway company from dissipating its assets outside the State. He also issued directions for the service of legal papers aimed at ensuring the matter will go ahead on Monday.
Mr Callanan said his clients had worked for Telecom South Africa. Most were married and between them they had 38 children to support.
He said they were induced to come to Ireland by the defendants on contracts lasting one year at minimum with the prospect of further employment. They had made major changes to their lifestyles and in some case had forgone protection under South Africa's welfare laws to come to Ireland.
Now the defendants were peremptorily purporting to terminate their contracts of employ ment, counsel said. This was a flagrant breach of contract.
In an affidavit on behalf of himself and 18 other men, Mr Gregg Schneeberger, a telecommunications electrician with an address at Foxborough Lawn, Lucan, Co Dublin, said both defendant companies, or one of them, had entered contracts of employment with the plaintiffs on September 27th, 1999. He said advertisements had appeared in South African newspapers in September 1999 seeking 50 copper jointers to work at a large telecommunications company in Ireland at a salary of 6,000 Rand a week (about £750). The advertisement stated the job was a one-year contract position and that work permits and free accommodation would be supplied.
He and other plaintiffs attended for interviews. He was told at his interview by Mr Brian Harnett, operations director of KTS Ireland, they were only interested in those committed to working in Ireland for one year.
Mr Schneeberger said he and the other plaintiffs were offered the jobs in a letter dated September 17th, 1999, which stated they were being offered a 12-month contract as a cable jointer working on the Eircom network. It was stated they would be paid £14 an hour for a 50-hour week, there would be ample opportunity for overtime at £20 an hour and this would give an income of £1,140 a week for a 72hour week.
He had signed what he believed to be a valid contract of employment for 12 months. He and the other plaintiffs arrived in Ireland last October and November. They all received work visas which were limited to working for KTS Ireland. They all received a certificate confirming they had begun full-time employment for the second defendant, Kelly Technical Services Ltd. On their arrival, they were told by Mr Raymond Kelly there was work for at least a year, he said.
They spent six days training and were paid £10 an hour, after which they began work at the agreed rate of £14 an hour. Work stopped for Christmas on December 23rd and they were told it would resume on January 5th. Up to December 14th, they received fortnightly payments and tax was withheld at 35 per cent.
He said that on returning to work on January 5th they were told by the manager of KTS Ireland, Mr Pat Carr, that Eircom had stopped providing the defendant companies with the work. Mr Carr later told them the defendants were seeking other work. On January 7th they received payment for all work done up to then and were told there was no clear picture as to the availability of other work. On January 11th they were told the work had stopped and they would all have to return to South Africa.
As a result, they were all in an exceptionally difficult and financially compromising situation, Mr Schneeberger said. They were being forced to return to South Africa, where unemployment stood at 36 per cent.
