Labour inspectors have visited the workplaces of a group of South Africans who are being paid a basic wage of less than half the minimum wage of €7.65 while working on a State-funded contract in Bus Éireann garages.
The move is part of an official investigation arising from a complaint by the Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Arthur Morgan, who received complaints and documentation from some of the men to the effect that they were being paid 25 rand an hour (€2.80) and had not been paid for hundreds of hours of overtime.
The men are working for a South African company, which is in turn sub-contracted to an Irish firm, Transport Component Distributors, which won the contract to fit seat-belts on Bus Éireann school buses.
"This is a very serious case and is all the more worrying given that it involves a State company," Mr Morgan said. "It is not good enough for either Bus Éireann or Irish company Transport Components to say that they don't know the detail because they are not the direct employers."
He said both Bus Éireann and the Irish firm had a duty to ensure that the men were treated fairly.
The workers, 19 in all, have been in Ireland since earlier this year and are due to finish their work next month.
According to the men's contracts, they are being paid 25 rand an hour for 45 hours of work and a further 35 rand an hour in overtime. In addition, they are to be paid a bonus of €1,000, a subsistence allowance of €20 a day and receive free accommodation while on their contracts, which are for three months.
To date, the men claim that they have not received pay slips and have yet to be paid overtime, despite the fact that they have been working six days a week. Apart from their subsistence allowances, which are paid to them in Ireland, just 1,125 rand a week has been paid into their bank accounts in South Africa by their South African employer, Marble City Gold.