Work permits system ‘inhumane’

THE present system of issuing work permits is both inhumane and inefficient, according to the Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland.

Columban priest Bobby Gilmore, who heads the MRCI, said we can have a radical policy on smoking, so why can’t we have one on managing the lives of tens of thousands of migrant workers in a humane and compassionate way. “I know because I worked with Irish people in Britain when times were tough during the 70s and 80s and I never saw the fear I now see in the faces of the migrant workers in Ireland,” he said.

The MRCI is calling for a new migration policy based on respect for human dignity and the needs of the economy. In particular, the centre wants one government department to be charged with managing migrant workers.

It also wants the State to take work permits from employers to avoid the potential for exploitation and wage depression.

Even employers who are fair and maintain high standards admit that permits can be perceived by the holder to be a form of bonded or indentured labour, said Fr Gilmore.

“If the insistence on employers having to apply for permits remains, workers should be able to claim joint ownership.”

In the absence of a system of worker-owned permits there is, at a minimum, a need to double the number of labour inspectors.

Fr Gilmore is concerned that there is little evidence of a co-ordinated policy approach to the migration issue in a situation where the EU is expanding.