A major investment will be made to set up an information programme about all entitlements and obligations under current employment rights legislation, Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen told the Dáil.
In the wake of the inquiry into the underpayment of migrant workers at the ESB Moneypoint plant, the Minister said that while the information programme was at an early stage, it "will be targeted at both employers and employees and will focus on particular audiences such as those engaged in sectors now generally populated by immigrant workers".
He told Labour TD Kathleen Lynch that labour inspectors investigating Moneypoint, were planning a further visit to the contractor's head office and to the site. He said the contractors were co-operating fully with the investigation and inspectors were examining documentation obtained from the contractor.
She asked: "How long more must we wait before sufficient inspectors are appointed? We thought the Government would be sufficiently embarrassed by the Gama incident to appoint a reasonable cohort of inspectors to ensure a similar incident would not happen". Mr Killeen said that the 11 extra promised inspectors had been appointed.
Ms Lynch said that the plight of the Polish workers at the ESB plant only came to light because ESB management discovered it and brought it to the Minister of State's attention and not as a result of a departmental inspection. She also said there was no incentive for employers to comply with the legislation.
