Block urged on awarding contracts to Gama

THE Government has been urged to place a temporary block on awarding contracts to construction firm Gama until all investigations into the company have been completed.

Gama, the multinational company found to have underpaid migrant Turkish workers, has been awarded another massive contract with the announcement it will build the €50 million 16km Castleblaney bypass in Co Monaghan.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) said it intends to back the recommendation of Monaghan County Council and award the contract to Gama, which delivered the lowest of the five bids.

However, the decision has been criticised by unions and politicians. The company was accused by Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins of paying its workers as little as €3 an hour, forcing them to work as much as 80 hours a week, and hiding millions in workers' wages in an Amsterdam bank.

Mick Murphy, a Socialist Party councillor who led the investigation into Gama, called on the Department of Enterprise to issue a blanket ban on contracts to Gama.

Labour Party employment spokesman Brendan Howlin said councils and the NRA must take labour laws into account when contracts are awarded. The NRA says it does and Gama complies with them.

He said: "The treatment by Gama of its own workforce has been quite shameful and some of the allegations made against the company are among the worst recorded in recent years.

"Against this background I think that many will regard it as abhorrent this company should now be treated on an equal basis with companies that have fulfilled all their obligations under labour law."

Earlier this month, Gama finally agreed to pay off all of what it promised after accepting a Labour Court recommendation in May. It agreed to pay workers €8,000 for each year of service in Ireland.

The company has a number of other major road contracts in Ireland, including the Ennis bypass. It also has various house building contracts in Dublin.

However, the company, while it managed to secure a High Court order quashing a Labour Inspectorate report into its work practices, is still believed to be under investigation by different State agencies.

The inspectorate report had been passed to Minister for Social and Family Affairs, the Competition Authority, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, gardaí, the DPP and the Revenue Commissioners.

Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin has lodged a Supreme Court appeal against the High Court decision.

The NRA has defended its decision on the Castleblaney contract. Michael Egan, head of corporate affairs, said it was bound by strict regulations in relation to tenders. It cannot block a bid except for specific reasons, such as bankruptcy or professional misconduct, that it failed to meet obligations in relation to tax, insurance or labour laws.

"Nobody has anything concrete on Gama. There's an awful lot of speculation," said Mr Egan.