Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Mar 1995

Vol. 451 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Non-EU Migrant Workers.

Kathleen Lynch

Last year a debate raged around how much money we would get from Europe. We eventually got much less than originally forecast. The money, we were told, was to ensure that Ireland reached European standards by 1999 when there will be very little funding available from the European Union. What people do not know is that the billions we were supposed to get from the EU were used by unscrupulous employers. Instead of putting in place structures to combat our high unemployment, we used the money very badly.

I am referring to contracts which were subcontracted to people in the European Union who could then employ people from outside the European Union in what we might call slave labour. Cheap non-European Union labour, mainly from Latvia, was used on dredging contracts in Cork and Waterford harbours and on work on the Malahide marina. The Cork and Waterford projects received 85 per cent EU funding with the remainder being provided by the State, in other words, the tax-payer. The work was carried out by European Union subcontractors who were then at liberty to employ cheap labour. In Cork, they did not even agree on pay rates and in other cases the rates agreed were laughable. Amnesty International had to intervene on behalf of the workers in Waterford who were literally imprisoned on ships and were refused access to union officials.

Officials from the Marine and Port Workers Union and SIPTU tried to gain access to those workers to find out the conditions under which they were working, their rates of pay, their free time, onshore leave and so on, but were unsuccessful until there was public intervention which brought the matter to light. These conditions are nothing short of a European scandal. There are two issues of public concern. It could be argued that, given the widespread unemployment throughout the European Union — especially in Ireland — European Union labour should be used on a European Union contract. Perhaps I could be accused of being racist or parochial, but when one considers the conditions under which non-European labour is employed, this would merely protect ourselves and the workers involved.

A more crucial issue relates to labour protection. I am aware of the difficulties involved in protecting those workers because they are employed offshore, but the employers in this case were so cunning they knew that Irish labour law does not offer protection to workers as long as they remain offshore. As Europe considers its territory includes the sea as well as land, surely the protection of workers' rights should extend to those working at sea, particularly having regard to the Minerals Development Bill we discussed earlier and offshore development in gas and oil.

As legislators we should not be content to maintain the status quo. At the very least all contracts which are either State or EU-funded should include a stipulation regarding the type of labour to be employed and the conditions thereof. I hope to keep this on the political agenda, and knowing people who work in offshore employment and how many people in this sector are unemployed, I am sure it would be of interest to us in the context of unemployment to bring this to the attention of the legislators at EU level. As a national parliament we must insist that neither our people nor those outside the EU are discriminated against.

Mrs. Doyle

I thank Deputy Lynch for raising her concerns about non-EU workers who have been employed on dredging projects. I would like to clarify a number of questions which have been raised about the status of non-EU workers engaged in offshore labour. First, in regard to health and safety legislation, any vessels operating within the outer limits of Irish territorial waters, other than where they are exercising the right of innocent passage, are classified as places of work within the meaning of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. This means that trawlers, coasters or dredgers on which work is under way within Irish territorial waters are subject to Irish health and safety legislation. Under the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, employers are required to ensure, in so far as reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of their employees. Subsequent regulations made under the Act amplify the protective provisions of the primary legislation in a number of specific areas which include use of work equipment, provision of personal protection equipment and manual handling of loads.

In terms of general employment rights legislation on unfair dismissal, holidays, minimum notice etc., the general position is that the legislation applies to employers and employees who come within the scope of the legislation, regardless of their nationality. This general rule would apply to all eligible employees on vessels operating within our territorial waters, regardless of whether they are non-EU citizens, and the fact that the employer may be foreign-based does not make the statute inoperable. As a general rule, therefore, Irish employment rights legislation does not exclude non-EU citizens employed on offshore labour.

However, different categories of employment are excluded under the individual employment rights statutes. For example, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act does not apply to employment under an employment agreement pursuant to Part II or Part IV of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894. It would be necessary to consider, therefore, in the context of the specific exclusions contained in individual statutes, whether each individual statute applied to the particular category of employment.

While certain categories of employee are entitled to statutory rates of pay and conditions of employment, as set out in registered employment agreements or employment regulation orders, in most employment these are matters for negotiation and settlement between employers and employees or trade unions acting on their behalf. Consequently, in most employment, rates of pay are not legally enforceable, irrespective of the nationality of the workers.

In summary, the general position is that non-EU migrant workers employed in Ireland, including those employed on offshore labour within the outer limit of Irish territorial waters, are protected on the same basis as Irish workers in regard to safety, health and general employment rights.