Heads of Government departments have been asked to ensure that workers on all public projects, regardless of their nationality, are receiving their full statutory entitlements.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin initiated the move yesterday in response to the revelation that Polish workers at the ESB power plant in Moneypoint were receiving less than the legal minimum rate.
The 66 workers are employed by a Polish-owned sub-contractor on the site, ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction, which plans to issue a statement on the matter today.
Mr Martin instructed the secretary general of his department, Seán Gorman, to raise his concerns about the matter with the heads of all other departments.
In a letter to other secretaries general last night, Mr Gorman asked for checks to be carried out to ensure that employment laws were being upheld on all public projects.He said the Minister had asked him to seek assurances that all workers on such projects, whether directly or indirectly under the department's control, were receiving their legal entitlements in full. The underpayments at the ESB plant in Moneypoint were made public on Monday by the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU).
It said Polish workers employed by ZRE Katowice on the €350 million refurbishment of the plant were being paid €5.20 an hour. This is below the national minimum wage of €7.65, and less than a third of the legally-enforceable registered employment rate for the construction sector of €18.97 per hour. Both the ESB and the main contractor involved, German company Lentjes, said the problem had already been uncovered through an independent audit and steps were being taken to rectify it.
The ESB believes the workers were in fact being paid about €8 an hour, and when other factors such as the provision of accommodation are taken into account, the actual shortfall in pay is between €4 and €6 an hour.
An ESB spokesman said the Polish company had agreed to provide detailed pay slips in future which itemised how much was being deducted for accommodation. The workers would also be given the option of retaining their full pay and sourcing their own accommodation if they wished.
A further independent audit is to take place this month to ensure that the company is in full compliance with labour law and that the workers have received all back money due to them. Mr Martin also indicated yesterday that legislation may be introduced to make those who hire sub-contractors responsible for ensuring that workers are not exploited.
"Given the fact that there is significant sub-contracting going on, the responsibility should lie with the primary company that is giving out the contract to make sure that Irish labour law is being applied down the line," he said in an interview on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.
TEEU general secretary Owen Wills welcomed the Minister's indication that a more rigorous approach would be adopted to enforcing employment legislation.
The Polish ambassador to Ireland expressed concern yesterday at recent reports of exploitation and underpayment of some migrant workers to Ireland.
Ambassador Witold Sobkow said most workers had positive experiences here, but there were moral question marks over employers who paid Polish workers a fraction of the wages being paid to Irish workers for the same job.
The ambassador was speaking at the launch of the Polish Information and Culture Centre, which has relocated to Gardiner Street, Dublin.
