Madam, - Globalisation is an invitation to nasty, greedy bosses like the management of Irish Ferries to exploit humanity. The Turkish building workers at Gamma Construction and the crews at Irish Ferries are the tip of the iceberg. Irish builders' labourers, scaffolders, roofers, painters, plumbers and carpenters are being replaced by lower-paid foreign workers. The minimum wage of €7.65 an hour is used as a benchmark. Irish labourers have an agreed rate of €14.90 an hour plus travel and dinner money.
The subcontracting culture of the building trade provides cover for exploitation as well as tax evasion. Point-blank refusal to consider employing local people is the experience of many Dublin labourers seeking work on city sites from Irish builders. This is stoking up anger and resentment and encouraging xenophobia.
When the social partners agree the next "partnership" agreement, it is vital to include the plight of the Irish former working class, now jobless.
An example speaks for itself. The total family income of a labourer aged 51, paying €35 per week local authority rent with his wife receiving disability benefit, and having a 14-year-old son at school is €261 a week. Food costs approximately €150 a week, so how can the heating tank be filled with kerosene this winter?
As the gap between rich and poor widens in Ireland, the social consequences of ignoring this reality will quickly become obvious. - Yours, etc,
Cllr BILL TORMEY (Fine Gael), Dublin 11.