SIPTU has called for visas for migrant workers instead of work permits, to give the workers greater personal and economic freedom. The system reduced migrants to the status of "bonded labourers", SIPTU's regional secretary, Mr Mike Jennings, said.
Mr Jennings, who negotiated an agreement in Rooskey for Hungarian workers, with copies in Hungarian, was speaking at a lunch to mark UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
He welcomed the commitment made in the Dail on Tuesday by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, to change the work permits system to prevent exploitation. He asked Ms Harney to sanction specialised units in her Department and in the Labour Relations Commission to tackle the problems.
"It is no surprise to the trade union movement that where there are vulnerable people there is exploitation," he said.
A non-EU national's work permit "remains in the possession of the employer", which means the worker "is only `legal' as long as he or she continues to be employed by that named employer.
The "inevitable result of such a system is that these workers are afraid to complain about injustices at their place of work and have no freedom to move to better, more suitable jobs, if they are unhappy in their current position", he said. There was no point having workers' rights enshrined in law, "when the worker concerned can be sent home if they look for them".
The chairman of Meath Council of Trade Unions, Mr Anton McCabe, said workers from nine non-EU countries were employed in his area. The Department did more checking on the workers than on their prospective employers, he said. Some permits were issued to agencies not registered as employers with the State.