Fighting for rights of migrant workers

SANCHA MAGAT has helped hundreds of exploited migrant workers since she came to Ireland from the Philippines 18 months ago.

She is a lay member of the Columban Missionaries and currently attached to the order’s Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI) in Dublin.

But she is rarely to be found at her desk. Most days Sancha walks the city streets in a bid to make contact with migrant workers working excessive hours in dreadful conditions, who are too afraid to seek help.

Sancha says many migrant workers are ill-prepared for working in Ireland. Unaware of their entitlements, they allow unscrupulous employers to treat them as slaves.

“Most don’t have pay slips even though employers are obliged to provide them,” she says.

Those who summon up the courage to leave bad positions also find it extremely difficult to get employers to supply them with the P45 that they need to apply for a new work permit.

Sancha mainly deals with migrant women workers, especially those based in the domestic sector. “Some of these women end up in very isolated positions. Because they also live with their employers they are too afraid to confront them.”

The women migrants Sancha has met have been threatened with deportation. Some were prevented from practicing their religion and even stopped from leaving the house.

She says exploited migrant women work 60-70 hour weeks. In some cases they are being taken advantage of by employers who have a good education and also a good knowledge of the law.

“Some professionals are very good at manipulating people,” she points out.

Unfortunately, she explained, most workers depend on the information they are getting from their employers. “That is okay if the employer is good,” she stressed.