Immigrant workers should have the same rights, pay and conditions as native Irish workers, according to a new SIPTU policy document adopted at its conference. Failure to enforce such rights would be exploited by unscrupulous employers and fuel "racism, xenophobia and bigotry".
It calls for all workers, regardless of origin to have the freedom to be "placed on the employer's payroll". They "should not be employed on an agency or contract basis, except in very exceptional circumstances when this is justifiable for fair and objective reasons".
Immigrant workers "should either be given work visas which do not tie them to a specific employer or alternatively the work permit system should be changed to allow transfers from one employment to another".