New legislation designed to modernise our work permit system and to provide greater protection for migrant workers was published yesterday by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin.
The Bill has been delayed for far too long. And while the proposed measures are an advance on the present situation, foreign workers will still be left in a vulnerable position because of inadequate State inspection and enforcement services.
The initiative by the Minister in reforming the work permit system follows a number of scandals involving the exploitation of non-EU, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the construction and transport sectors. But a Dáil debate on the terms of the Bill will not take place until the autumn. And the provisions of the legislation, with various regulations, may not come into effect until next year. That is not the kind of urgency required to protect vulnerable workers from unscrupulous employers.
A twin-track approach has been adopted by Government to the treatment of foreign workers. Highly-skilled individuals of any nationality will be facilitated with "green cards" in specified economic and service areas, while work permits for low-skilled workers will be more difficult to obtain and may be strictly limited, following bi-annual reviews. It is a development of existing practices, designed to respond in a pragmatic way to the changing needs of the economy.
A decision to grant future work permits to the employee, rather than to the employer, is a welcome development - long sought by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Churches and by former president Robinson - that will help to change a perception of these workers as bonded labour. Even though an employer must still apply for a work permit, the document will become the property of the worker and it will set out basic rights and entitlements. Employers will also be prevented from deducting recruitment expenses from the wages of workers or from retaining their personal documents. Breaches of the new law will trigger significant fines.
We have 25 pieces of employment legislation in this State. And eight different bodies are empowered to deal with employment rights. But our record on statutory enforcement is abysmal, with about 20 poorly-trained and badly-funded inspectors expected to police the entire economy. Much more needs to be done. In that regard, the Minister has undertaken to employ extra inspectors. But the 31 posts he has mentioned will hardly be sufficient to deal with those ruthless employers who exploit their workers and sack them when they complain.
Non-national workers have contributed significantly to the growth of the Irish economy and to the general wealth of this society. Seven per cent of the current workforce was born outside of the State. It has been estimated that tens of thousands of extra workers will be required in the coming years to fill vacancies. These people work extremely hard. They should be treated fairly.