Statement by Minister Micheál Martin to Seanad Éireann in relation to Rights of Migrant Workers

On Wednesday 12^th April 2005

I very much welcome this opportunity to address this House and particularly to do so on an issue which I believe to be one of the current drivers of Irelands social and economic development. Immigration is, and will continue to be, essential to how we as a society, and as individuals, develop and prosper. Immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland - we have known the other side of the coin for generations. Even today people continue to leave Ireland to expand their experiences and skills.

Today I want to send out a clear message from this House that people who come to Ireland seeking employment are welcome and that it is a shared expectation on the part of Ireland, its people and the new arrivals that the experience will be beneficial to all. Ireland has skills shortages, which we need to overcome if we are to deliver the essential services and infrastructure we demand and expect so as to contribute to the benefit of all.

I am heartened when I hear of the excellent welcome afforded to people and their families coming to participate in, and contribute to, the vibrant society that is Ireland today. I am deeply disappointed when I hear of instances where the expectations of people coming to work in Ireland are not met for any of a variety of reasons. It infuriates me when I hear of instances of deliberate mistreatment which do a great disservice to Ireland and our people. People who carry on such practices are preying on the inexperienced and vulnerable. Such people are despicable and have no place in our business community or Irish society. I know the business community do not condone such sharp practices. I know fellow workers and the Irish people do not condone such practices and yet they occur. I commend all those who assist migrant workers to settle and integrate. I commend them for the support that they provide in interacting on behalf of migrant workers. I urge work colleagues and neighbours of migrant workers to extend the hand of friendship and offer support. I know it will be an enriching experience all round.

I am satisfied that the `Irish experience' of the vast majority of migrant workers is positive and I share the pride which their co-workers and employers take in their experience of Ireland. Many extended families in Europe and further afield are very aware of the `Irish experience' of their loved ones and I know that we are all saddened when we hear of instances where people are mistreated and can only imagine the distress that occurs to friends and families. We all can appreciate the harm it does to Ireland's reputation abroad.

I am aware of the keen attention which this House gives to topical issues of concern to the Irish people, the business sector and indeed migrant workers. I would like to update this House and indeed the Oireachtas in relation to an allegation made by Deputy Higgins in Dáil Éireann on 8 February, 2005 to the effect that GAMA Construction Ireland demands excessive hours of its workers and pays between €2 and €3 per hour. Allegations such as this are of the kind which I earlier described as infuriating in that, if true, they besmirch the good name of Ireland and Irish employers at home and abroad. I immediately asked the duly authorised Labour Inspectorate in my Department to open an investigation and this they did the following day. They conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations and where they encountered issues outside the immediate scope of the allegations they made limited observations and suggested that these are issues appropriate to the attention of other regulatory bodies who could have a role to play.

The Inspectorate brought its key values of independence, fairness, thoroughness and speed to their investigation. They consulted widely with current and former workers, industry associations, trade unions, the company's professional advisors and of course secured the co-operation of GAMA itself to the process. GAMA also gave a series of assurances to the Labour Inspectorate that no Turkish workers would be relocated or repatriated without reference to the Labour Inspectorate until further notice.

The investigation started from the premise shared by many parties - my Department, the unions and the industry associations that GAMA was a good employer. This shared belief was based upon assurances given by GAMA, its auditors and its legal advisor to all the above parties and indeed the media up to recently that GAMA pays the `going rate' and was fully compliant with employment rights legislation.

I should mention that the `going rate' also called the Joint Industrial Council Norm for skilled construction workers is €16.20 per hour whereas the only legally enforceable rates are those in the Registered Employment Agreement which range from €8.09 per hour for Craftsmen to €7.36 for Construction Operatives (Grade 1). While the statutory minimum rates are not in line with the `going rate' it is a matter for the employers and unions to review the position - this process has been stalled since 1998 by reason of a judicial review.

I should point out that all employees in Ireland are covered by Irish Employment Rights legislation and for the avoidance of doubt Section 20 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 so provides in relation particularly to workers posted to Ireland irrespective of nationality or place of residence.

I received a Report of the investigation from the Labour Inspectorate into alleged breaches of Employment Rights in the sites of GAMA Construction Ireland and other Companies on the 6^th of April. On receipt of the Report I immediately made known my wish to publish it as soon as possible but I am currently prevented from doing so pending the resolution of High Court proceedings initiated by GAMA.

Having read and considered the Report I fully accept and endorse the recommendations which are addressed to my Department, other Departments, the Revenue Commissioners, the Gardaí and a range of regulatory bodies. It is my intention to forward the Report to these bodies so as to enable them to look into the consequences arising.

May I, however, categorically state that it is my objective that all workers in GAMA past and present are given their due entitlements and that their terms and conditions are in accordance with the law and are honoured in full.

The Labour Inspectorate are continuing their investigations and if breaches of employment legislation are found they will be enforced in full.

I also wish to reiterate that I sought and obtained assurances from GAMA that no reassignment or repatriation of workers would take place without prior consultation with the Labour Inspectorate. I acknowledge that GAMA have to date honoured their commitments in this regard.

I met yesterday with ICTU, SIPTU and the Construction Industry Federation who have concerns in relation to these issues. I want to see a partnership approach developed to oversee compliance and restitution as well as to ensure instances such as this do not re-occur. I intend to meet with GAMA senior management and have opened contact with the Dutch bank where it is maintained the GAMA workers have their accounts.

Yesterday I also strengthened the Labour Inspectorate by sanctioning an increase of 50% in the number of inspectors assigned. These additional inspectors will place a specific emphasis on sectors where migrant workers are concentrated. The additional Inspectors will strengthen the Labour Inspectorate's capacity to ensure that workers in these sectors receive their entitlements under employment rights legislation. This expansion of the Inspectorate will bring the authorised number of Labour Inspectors to 31 who together with support staff and their colleagues in the Employment Rights Information Unit and the Prosecution Unit make up an integrated group dedicated to ensuring people get their entitlements.

For the benefit of the House I should explain the policy framework regarding the admission of migrant workers to this country. Consistent with international practice, our policy is based on economic needs and seeks to address identified labour and skills shortages. Obviously, our policy must respond to a constantly changing environment. Our labour market needs are continually changing as our economic performance changes.

For many centuries Ireland was a country of net emigration, with large numbers of young people emigrating to find employment overseas. However, this all changed in the 1990's, when rapid economic growth transformed the country from one of net emigration to one of net immigration.

From 1997 to 2000, in particular, Ireland experienced an exceptional level of growth. This good economic growth has led to an enormous growth in jobs and employment. Since 1997, the numbers in employment have grown by nearly 450,000.

At the same time, the number unemployed has fallen by almost 80,000 from 10.4 per cent to 4.7 per cent, which is about half the EU-25 average. The number of long-term unemployed has dropped by nearly 60,000 from 5.5 per cent to 1.4 per cent, which is about one third of the EU-25 average.

As a consequence, labour and skill shortages have become apparent. This has necessitated the recruitment of large numbers of overseas workers - principally from the European Union but also from a wide geographic spread of destinations. The scale of this is evident in the numbers of work permits issued to nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) in the past number of years. The EEA consists of the 25 EU Member States, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and for this purpose, Switzerland. In 1999, 6,000 work permits were issued. By 2003, this figure increased to 48,000. In all, a total of 110,000 non-EEA nationals entered employment the State in the last five years.

Our future economic outlook is good. The Irish economy is forecast to grow in 2005 by 4.7 per cent in GNP terms, twice the rate of the EU-25 average. This positive situation has been recognised by the European Commission who, in its commentary on Ireland's Stability and Growth Pact, 2005 to 2007, notes our strong growth and sound public finances.

The good economic outlook means that a considerable future expansion of employment and demand for labour is also expected. This will mean increasing the numbers in our labour force. Given the falling numbers of young people coming into the labour market there will be a need to mobilise labour supply from other sources, including from other countries.

Not only must we look to supply the numbers of workers we need, but we must also ensure that we supply the types of skills which our labour market needs into the future. The Enterprise Action Plan published in March included the development of a skills-based immigration policy as a key task. This will support enterprise development as part of the strategy to move the economy to one which is both knowledge-based and innovation-driven.

Forfás and the Expert Group for Future Skills Needs are currently engaged in research and consultations on the detailed issues entailed in the implementation of this policy, including the types of skills for which permits should be granted. This work will form the basis for a policy paper to be published by my Department later this year.

My Department is also currently in the final stages of preparation of a new Employment Permits Bill, which will govern the issue of all employment permits for nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of the 25 EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and, for this purpose, Switzerland.

The Bill will put the existing employment permit administrative arrangements on a legislative footing and thereby provide greater accountability and transparency. The Bill allows for a more managed economic migration policy and enables the introduction of a "green-card" type system for highly skilled migrant workers.

The Bill will also enshrine a number of protections for migrant workers. Employers will be prohibited from deducting from the remuneration of migrant workers any costs associated with their recruitment. The Bill also prohibits the retention by employers of personal documents belonging to migrant workers.

Our economic migration policy must also change as Europe changes. In advance of the recent enlargement of the EU the Government, in an expression of solidarity with the new Member States, decided to allow full freedom of movement to citizens of those States from the date of their accession to the EU on 1 May 2004. In this context, the Government decided that any future labour shortages should in the first instance be met from within the EEA - particularly as there are approximately 19 million people currently unemployed in the EU.

A significant proportion of work permits over recent years had been granted to citizens of the new Member States who now no longer require work permits. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of work permits issued since 1st May 2004. The number of new work permits issued in 2003 was 22,000 while the corresponding figure for 2004 was 10,000.

It might be useful if I describe for this House how the current employment permits system operates. Nationals from any State other than those in the EEA must obtain an employment permit before entering employment in the State. Generally, employment permits take three forms: work permits, work authorisations or visas and inter-company transfer authorisations.

The main means for nationals from outside the EEA of entering the Irish labour market is through the work permits system. Work permits are issued to employers who employ non-EEA nationals to fill specific vacancies that they have been unable to fill from within the EEA. The employer is required to undertake an economic needs test. This in effect means that they must advertise the particular employment position for four weeks with Ireland's national employment service, FÁS, before offering the job to a non-EEA national.

Permits can also be issued where a foreign company, with no presence in Ireland, wins a contract to provide a service in Ireland and it wishes to bring its own staff from its company overseas into Ireland to provide the contracted service. In this case the employer is not obliged to advertise the positions with FÁS.

Work permits are issued for a maximum of one year but can be renewed annually.

While there has been criticism that work permits being issued to employers leaves an employee open to abuse, it should be noted that a new work permit can be issued to an employee's new employer if he or she changes jobs for genuine reasons.

The second type of work permit are working visas or work authorisations. These were introduced to allow greater access to the labour market for non-EEA workers in possession of skills of which the economy was very short.

These skill categories include professionals in the areas of:

• health and medicine;
• information computing technology and
• construction professionals, including, for example architects, engineers and town planners.

Unlike work permits, working visas and work authorisations are issued to the individual and not the employer.

Working visas apply in the case of states where a visa is required upon entry into Ireland. Work authorisations apply in the case of States where a visa is not necessary for entry into Ireland. The scheme is operated through the various Embassies of Ireland throughout the world.

Recipients of working visas or work authorisations are free to change employment within the economic sector of their visa. In addition, working visas/work authorisations are granted for 2 years and can be renewed thereafter by the immigration authorities.

Over 1,300 working visas and work authorisations were issued in 2004.

The third type of employment permit is the intra-company transfer facility. This allows companies to bring in senior managers or skilled staff from an overseas branch of a multinational corporation to the Irish branch of the same organisation, to fulfil a specific and short-term role. Because this work is temporary by definition, employers are not required to advertise the position with FÁS. Since October 2002 intra-company transfer concessions have been granted on a case-by-case basis.

In mentioning GAMA I would like to bring this House up to the minute as to where I am in relation to the position of the GAMA workers. Contacts with the Dutch bank were formalised this morning when the Irish Ambassador to the Netherlands contacted the bank and sought clarifications on behalf of the workers. I myself spoke with the bank this morning in relation to putting a place a mechanism to facilitate immediate access of individuals to their account balances. I myself will meet with the workers and their representatives this evening. I have also arranged to meet with senior management from GAMA International so as to appraise them of the serious concerns I have in relation to the operations of their subsidiary in Ireland.

As you will appreciate I am currently constrained by Court Order from commenting on the Inspectors Report but today we are robustly submitting our case for the lifting of the injunction from GAMA Turkey. I should mention that we were served with notice of a further injunction against publication from GAMA Ireland. I have instructed that this too be opposed vigorously.

I hope Cathaoirleach I have given you an insight to my approach to migrant workers as well as clarification in relation to Government policy and as much by way of detail as will inform this House and the debate on this important issue.

I look forward a Cathaoirleach to the debate and would wish, if I may, to respond.

ENDS

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