Polish workers, some of them members of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), are being paid 5.20 euros an hour by a contractor on the 350 million euros refurbishment programme at the ESB power plant in Moneypoint, County Clare, says the Irish trade union.
A TEEU statement said: ‘An investigation by the union over the past few days has discovered that employees of ZRE Katowicz (Ireland) Construction Limited are receiving just over 1,000 euros a month for a 52 hour week with no overtime premiums.
‘The company claims that there are additional benefits such as accommodation and travel costs but these are not itemised on pay slips.
‘The travel facilities consist of one journey home in six months consisting of a flight from Shannon to Liverpool and a bus from there to Poland. Some workers can spend as much time on the bus as they do at home because of the duration of the journey.
‘The minimum hourly rate for craft workers on such projects under the relevant Mechanical Engineering Contractors Association (MECA) and under the construction industry’s Registered Employment Agreement (REA) is 18.97 euros an hour.
‘These workers are also entitled, under the MECA agreement, to 157.09 euros a week in subsistence. ZRE Katowicz (Ireland) Construction Limited has a signed agreement with the TEEU to apply the MECA and REA rates of pay & conditions of employment.
‘Although ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction Limited is registered in Athlone it is a wholly owned subsidiary of ZRE Katowice SA, a large Polish construction company.
‘At present around 70 workers, all of them Polish, are employed by ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction Limited on the Moneypoint project and the number is expected to rise shortly to well over 100.
‘The company previously carried out a major contract for the ESB at Shannonbridge and the TEEU now has reason to believe similar practices were in place there.
‘As can be seen from the sample payslip, not only are these workers not receiving the relevant rate for the job, nor subsistence allowances, but there are no deductions for PAYE, PRSI or the Construction Industry Pension Scheme (CFOPS) recorded.
‘However there are deductions of 25 euros for meals and another 100 euros for unspecified services.
‘Major elements of employment legislation such as the Payment of Wages Act 1991, the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, 1994-2001, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 appear to have been breached.
‘These issues have been raised by the TEEU with the ESB and with Lentjes-Lurgi, the main contractor at Moneypoint. So far a representative of ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction Limited has not been available to meet with the TEEU. They have agreed to meet on Wednesday (March 15th, 2006).’
TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills said on Monday that the union ‘is concerned that a Gama-type scenario could exist and is developing further at Moneypoint.
‘This is totally unacceptable to us as a union and, I believe, it will also be totally unacceptable to other affiliates of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions as talks on a new national agreement enter a critical phase regarding the protection of employment standards.
‘The fact that the client is the ESB shows that even in the public sector, assurances given in the past about ensuring labour laws and standards are complied with, are not worth the paper they are written on.
‘Incredibly we still have CIF and IBEC representatives telling us, the government and the public in general that Gama and Irish Ferries were “once-off” situations that will never recur.
‘The truth is that not alone my union but other unions are finding that Gama type syndrome situations are fast becoming the rule. This situation requires urgent action by the ESB and by Lentjens-Lurgi, the main contractor at Moneypoint, as well as by the government and social partners at national level.
‘I must say I am concerned at the response of the ESB so far. When we brought the matter to its attention, the company offered to involve us in a “Memorandum of Understanding” process under which it has now decided to investigate the situation.
‘However it also asked the TEEU to comply with a confidentiality clause in that Memorandum that would effectively have gagged the union and significantly reduced our ability to defend our members. If we entered a process to investigate a problem and were then barred from voicing our opinion on the outcome we would be in an even worse situation.
‘We do not need new processes. What is required is a radical review of legislation that provides statutory powers to EPACE (Electrical Pay and Conditions of Employment) to investigate and enforce the labour standards as proposed in the DETE and the Pensions Board Report on the Industry by Mercers.
‘A key aspect to any new legislation must be to move the burden of proof from the Employee to the Employer – and there must be protection for whistle blowers.
‘Over six months ago the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment received the report from Mercer’s, commissioned by his Department and the Pensions Board.
‘It expressed concern over large scale non-compliance with the law in the construction. One of those recommendations was that EPACE should have the power to investigate situations such as Moneypoint. Unfortunately that report is still sitting on the Minister’s desk.
‘Moneypoint should also be investigated by the Health and Safety Authority and relevant government departments such as Revenue and Social Welfare.
‘A further worrying aspect of the situation is that the Safe Pass accreditation of each Polish worker is being held by the employer.
‘Proof that a worker has completed the Safe Pass course is essential to obtain employment in the construction industry. By holding onto this accreditation the employer is effectively denying workers the right to seek employment on sites where the full rate is paid.
‘The facts are clear cut. ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction, which is based in Athlone, has an agreement with us to abide by MECA pay and conditions.
‘It appears, from our investigations, that the company may not have complied with its obligations when it carried out similar work for the ESB at Shannonbridge in 2003.
‘We will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure these workers receive their entitlements, including back pay.
‘We have also made it clear to all the parties concerned that we expect every worker currently working on the site to be kept on site and that no victimisation takes place while this case is being fully investigated.’
TEEU Regional Secretary Pat Guilfoyle added that, ‘Since ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction began work at Moneypoint, seasonal employment for local craftworkers and general operatives, who would have to be paid the agreed MECA and REA rates, has ceased.
‘It is clearly only more profitable to bring workers from Poland to Moneypoint to carry out work that could be performed by local labour if the new workers are being paid a fraction of the going rate.
‘If this is not a clear case of gross exploitation of migrant workers and job displacement I would like to know what is.’
