Vol. 409 No. 2
11 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Labour if he intends to seek any agreement within the EC to protect the rights of migrant workers, including Irish workers going abroad, particularly to ensure that promises made regarding wages and working conditions are honoured; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The freedom of movement of workers within the European Community is guaranteed under Articles 48 to 51 of the Treaty. Detailed provisions relating to the exercise of the right of such freedom are contained in Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68 of the 15 October 1986.
Under the regulation, any national of a member state has the right to seek and to take up employment in another member state in accordance with the provisions governing the nationals of that state. The regulation also provides that employers in a member state may not discriminate between one EC national and another on grounds of nationality.
In effect, this means that an Irish national seeking employment in another member state has the right to compete on the same basis as a national of the host state. Irish nationals taking up employment with an employer in another EC member state are covered by the legislation of that state and have the same remedies open to them as local people.
It is essential that anyone contemplating employment abroad obtain in advance a written statement of the wages and conditions attaching to the job in question. Where employment abroad is obtained through SEDOC, the EC sponsored placement service operated by FÁS, it is possible for FÁS to have complaints investigated should difficulties subsequently arise.
EEC Regulation 1612/68 is currently under examination with a view to making better provision for the families of workers who move to other member state.
I do not know if the Minister recognises that this question was prompted by a case of 49 workers who were employed in a German plant near Munich through a FÁS advertisement. Is the Minister aware that some of those workers have described the experience publicly as a horror show and allege they were misled by FÁS concerning the amount of wages, standards of accommodation and lack of washing and cooking facilities, and that the doctors in Germany certified their living accommodation as uninhabitable? Does the ing facilities, and that the doctors in Germany certified their living accommodation as uninhabitable? Does the Minister think this is an urgent matter in terms of Community action? My understanding is that this happens in Germany to migrant workers from outside the Community but I was unaware of the extent of the problem as it affects workers within the Community. This is a cause for concern and action at Community level.
As Deputy Rabbitte said, there was a difficulty with a company called Oldenbourg Limited in Munich. When that came to their notice it was investigated by FÁS and by the officials of the German department. Through a series of misunderstandings, due to interpretation and language difficulties mainly, the difficulties were compounded. To the best of my knowledge they are resolved, though I have asked for a full report on the current position. I know that on the completion of the contract a number of the workers involved signed a new contract so I assume things are not too difficult. A few thousand workers find employment under the SEDOC system and FÁS have the right to examine and check individual cases. They work on the data given to them through SEDOC, a computer based network. The FÁS equivalent in other member states feed in vacancies on a Community basis, and they all work to the best of their ability. However, as we know from experience, sometimes they can be misled but we have a right to investigate them. I would be more concerned about people who are not in the SEDOC system. That is why the new controls are being brought in.
Who is responsible for seeing that SEDOC agreements entered into between member states are implemented?
If they are under the SEDOC system the Commission and the various agencies within the Commission can do it. If they are outside SEDOC, they come under Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68.
There is room for a DÍON type organisation to supervise any migrant workers on mainland Europe. We provide funding for the DÍON organisation in England, to which Irish people can refer. Does the Minister not think there is scope to become involved in this area in Europe?
The regulations are there. I do not want to delay the House by reading them now, but they are law. It is a matter of making sure Articles 48 to 50 are implemented. They are very strict.
Who is going to police them?
It is the same as if it happened here and somebody felt he or she was either misled or had not the benefit of any of our legislation. That person would complain to the governing body, normally the Department, and in this case the Commission. Normally members complain to their member states. The powers there are good, but they are not for families and that is what is being improved.
The Minister said language has proved a barrier. That confronts every migrant worker. There is a language barrier and those migrants cannot communicate and do not know where the services are available. Should there not be some guiding hand sponsored by the Government to ensure they get their rights?
In case I am not making myself clear, let me say that if they go through FÁS they are covered by the laws governing the SEDOC arrangements. If they are on EC exchanges they are governed by FÁS, again through EC arrangements. Otherwise they are covered by EC legislation, Articles 48 to 50 which are governed by the EC Information Service. It is a matter of seeing the laws are implemented. We have that difficulty here.
May I ask the Minister a question I asked him some time ago in this House? In the light of the development of FÁS helping in placement in other EC countries, are FÁS considering opening offices in those countries to assist workers who find themselves in this plight?
When we formalised this arrangement we generated closer links with the SEDOC system and the FÁS equivalents in the member states, and we improved both the numbers and the protections.
Would the Minister agree that with such a high level of unemployment, quite often these advertisements are couched in terms as attractive as possible to induce the workers to go to those countries and that there has to be some mechanism there like FÁS? I am aware of the SEDOC system but I do not think it covers the type of situation Deputy Rabbitte referred to. Quite often it is necessary to carry out more investigations into the true extent of the jobs and the conditions facing these workers, who are quite often vulnerable and emigrate to take up those jobs. Will the Minister agree that we must tighten up the situation there?
As far as we can do it, I have no objection. It has to be continually tightened up. You do not have to go to the EC to meet people who do not tell the truth when they are employing people.
