Company to be barred from tunnel project

Michael O’Farrell, Political Reporter

More than 40 employees of Format Industrial Construction Ltd will now be transferred to another firm under a deal brokered by the tunnel consortium Nishimatsu Mowlem Irishenco (NMI).

Format made written commitments to pay workers properly in February following an extensive Irish Examiner investigation which revealed that its tunnel workers were being paid just over E8 an hour instead of the agreed industry standard of over E15.

The workers did not receive holiday pay or overtime payments, although flights home and accommodation were provided.

Although some improvements were made, irregularities continued and workers still complained of threats and intimidation which are the subject of an investigation by the Government’s labour inspectorate.

Then on Tuesday night workers claimed they were asked by management to leave SIPTU or lose their jobs and were told their jobs would finish on June 18.

The move, which saw unofficial pickets placed on the Port Tunnel yesterday, led to a series of meetings between Format president Wojciech Mikulecki, unions and NMI, during which the consortium agreed to take on all staff affected.

SIPTU construction branch official Dave Morris, who attended yesterday’s meetings, said: “My understanding is that their contract will be terminated.

“We have a commitment that our workers will be re-deployed and Format will no longer have a presence in the Port Tunnel,” he said.

In February one of Ireland’s largest contractors Sisk cancelled a E5 million contract with Format following the allegations against the company.

However Mr Morris warned that Format had questions to answer elsewhere.

“For us this is only the first step. Format have five other contracts in the greater Dublin area and all the irregularities in the Dublin Port Tunnel are repeated there,” he said.

One worker told the Irish Examiner that he and his colleagues were delighted at the move.

“Everybody is very happy. Tomorrow we start to work in the tunnel for another company. We are happy because we believe that the Irish company will not steal money from us and terrorise us and do everything that Format did,” he said.

Format’s Irish representative Edwin Aviles was unavailable for comment last night.