AROUND €2.5 million in unpaid wages was recovered last year for workers who were found to have been paid less than their statutory minimum entitlements following investigations by the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA).
In its report for 2009, NERA said over 6,000 workers received money back on foot of its investigations, with €410 being received on average per employee.
The report showed that in the catering sector only 21 per cent of employers inspected by NERA were found to be compliant with industrial relations and other legislation governing pay and conditions. Following inspections by NERA, more than €736,000 was recovered for workers in the sector.
The report said there was a compliance rate of 27 per cent in the hotel sector, 28 per cent in the retail and grocery area, and 27 per cent in electrical contracting.
Around 7 per cent of employers inspected were found to be in breach of the national minimum wage legislation. As a result of such inspections, nearly €200,000 was recovered for workers.
However, it also emerged yesterday that the number of inspectors available to NERA to police such legislation is falling as a result of cutbacks and the Government’s moratorium on recruitment.
NERA director Ger Deering said there were now 69 inspectors working in the agency, down from 80 in 2008.
Minister of State for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary said the low compliance rates in certain sectors were of concern. However, he said that in 2009 NERA had entered into partnership arrangements with a number of sectoral bodies, such as in catering and construction, and had gone out to spread the information about obligations under the legislation.
“In 2010 NERA is going to drill the figures down further to give us an idea of the extent of the compliance breaches. Some of them will be very minor and can be rectified easily. Some of them, as is evident from the annual report, are more serious.
“I think that when we have those figures we will have a better understanding of the challenge we face.”