Polish workers shortchanged €600,000

UP to 70 Polish workers employed at the ESB power station at Moneypoint are owed an estimated €600,000 in wages after a probe found they were being paid less than a third of the agreed hourly rate.

The ESB confirmed yesterday that irregularities, dating back to December, have been found in the salaries paid by a Polish sub-contractor carrying out work on a €350m project.

It followed claims by the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union that there was “blatant exploitation and abuse” of some Polish fitters and welders at the ESB power plant by their employer, ZRE Katowice (Ireland) Construction, a wholly owned, Irish subsidiary of a large Polish construction firm. The trade union claims pay slips issued by the company show workers were getting just €5.20 per hour, compared with the legal minimum wage of €7.65 per hour.