A Labour Party claim that the Government has been "sleeping" on the issue of protecting foreign worker's rights has been strongly denied by the Minister for Enterprise.
Michael Martin
Former tánaiste and minister for finance Ruairí Quinn attacked the Government this morning over the fact there have been no prosecutions and no convictions over the failure to pay the minimum wage this year or last. There was only one conviction in 2004.
"There is not much point in having laws unless they are enforced," Mr Quinn said. "With full employment, which is a wonderful thing . . . comes new prospects for exploitation and unfair competition," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Mr Quinn said many foreign workers in Ireland were being exploited and were being denied their rights because of language difficulties.
He cited the example of the Gama workers, adding that Sitpu were aware of many more cases where foreign workers have been exploited.
However, Micheál Martin insisted the Government was "moving very fast of ramping up the capacity of the State to investigate these situations. He said the Government was less concerned with prosecuting employers than with ensuring compliance and recovering monies owed to workers.
Minister for Enterprise Micheal Martin
"This is not about prosecutions and convictions," Mr Martin said. He said over 12,800 inspections have been carried out in relation to employment rights law and a further 2,800 inspections have take place in relation to the minimum wage. "Last year, in terms of inspections for the minimum wage we had only 481 - so we have had six times more inspections in 2006 than we had in 2005. "We had six times more in 2006 than 2005," he said. "In 2004 we . . . recovered €300,000 for workers, last year it was about half a million euro recovered for workers, this year it is over €1 million," he added.
"We've nearly doubled the number of [labour] inspectors from 17 to 31 on my watch. So, far from being asleep, we've been very active," he said.
That number will increase again to 90 in the next couple of months, while recruitment has begun for five senior posts in a new office of the Director of Employment Rights Compliance, he added. "The best route for the worker and the shortest route is the recovery of the money," the Minister insisted. "In a situation where there is continuous repeated abuses of the law further sanctions can then be pursued. But it's agreed generally that the best approach is to seek compliance and win compliance," he said.
Mr Quinn said the measures outlined were too little, too late. "Rogue employers are not being fined and prosecuted and not being made an example of. That sends a very bad signal and a very unfair signal to the vast majority of employers who are compliant," he said. It was unfair that employers working within the legislation can be undercut by those flouting the laws and using cheap labour, he said.
The minimum wage is currently €7.65 an hour.