Thirty-eight unemployed South African telecommunications technicians are to be paid £700 a week by the company which brought them to Ireland, according to undertakings given to the High Court yesterday.
They came to Ireland to work on the Eircom network for a year, but have found themselves out of work since last month. They will now be paid irrespective of whether they are doing alternative work for the company.
Mr James Connolly SC gave the undertaking on behalf of Kelly Technical Services (Ireland) Ltd, of Claregalway, Co Galway; Kelly Technical Services Ltd, a London-registered company, and brothers Raymond and Declan Kelly, directors of the two companies.
Last week the High Court was told the South Africans came to Ireland between October and November, having allegedly signed contracts with Kelly Technical Services Ltd (KSL) to work on the Eircom network for a minimum of one year.
They claimed they were offered £14 an hour for a 50-hour week plus overtime of £20 an hour which, for a 72-hour week, would bring their earnings to £1,140.
On returning to work on January 5th, they said, they were told that Eircom had stopped providing the defendant companies with work. Later they were told the defendants were seeking work for them elsewhere. On January 11th, they were told they would have to return to South Africa, leave their houses at the end of this month and return their vans and mobile phones, which were supplied by the defendants.
They could not return to their former employment with Telecom South Africa. Many were married with wives, children and extended families dependent on them.
Last Thursday Mr Justice O'Sullivan granted liberty to the men to seek an injunction directing that their salaries continue to be paid for the alleged 12-month duration of their contracts, and restraining any attempt to terminate their contracts.
When the matter came before Mr Justice McCracken yesterday Mr Frank Callanan SC said there were 22 plaintiffs before the court last week and he sought to add another 16, who are living in Ireland, and 11 who had returned to South Africa, all of whom were in the same position as the existing 22 plaintiffs, making a total of 49.
He read an affidavit from Mr Declan Kelly, joint managing director of KTS (Ireland) Ltd and a director of KTS. Mr Kelly said it was at all times understood that the plaintiffs were being retained to carry out work for Eircom, but the work was no longer available.
The defendants learned only on December 22nd about the Eircom contract coming to an end, and this was a great shock. They had made strenuous efforts to get alternative work. He contended there was no issue to be tried and damages was an adequate remedy.
After further discussion, Mr Connolly said he could offer an undertaking to pay the plaintiffs £700 a week for a 50-hour week, less tax, and plus overtime if worked, pending the outcome of the present action.
His clients would also undertake to seek alternative work for the plaintiffs.
Mr Justice McCracken said he would accept the undertaking - applicable to the 38 plaintiffs now in Ireland - as an alternative remedy to an injunction. He also directed the plaintiffs to make themselves available for work for the defendants in Ireland or the UK, provided it was lawful for them to do such work.
The judge returned the matter to February 14th.
