Rabbitte hits out at failure to appoint labour inspectors

NONE of the 11 extra labour inspector positions promised by Employment Minister Michéal Martin in April following revelations of the abuse of foreign workers by construction company GAMA, has been filled.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said figures he had obtained showed there was just one labour inspector for every 116,000 workers.

Mr Rabbite said this was a “national scandal” given the continuing concern about the systematic exploitation of both Irish and foreign workers.

Before the April announcement there were 21 labour inspectors, but the minister has now told Mr Rabbitte in a written Dáil reply that as a result of sick leave and staff being assigned to other posts, there were only 16 full-time staff, plus one part-time member, doing the job at present.

Mr Rabbitte described the situation as a “national scandal,” given the huge influx of foreign workers who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and the evidence of abuse of young workers. He said it again demonstrated the protection of workers was very low on the Government’s agenda.

Mr Rabbitte also said that the shortage of staff was also reflected in the number of inspections and prosecutions undertaken.

Inspections had declined from 8,323 in 2002 to 5,160 in 2004, while the number of prosecutions in the same period fell from 25 to 14.

“If the exploitation of workers is to be halted, it is essential that the labour inspectorate be properly resourced,” Mr Rabbitte insisted. “Indeed, its workload is likely to increase significantly once the long-awaited Employments’ Permit Bill is enacted.”

“The full complement of 31 posts must be filled in the short term and the full number of inspectors increased further in the longer term,” said Mr Rabbitte.

The Labour leader also called for a significant increase in penalties for non-compliance with employment legislation.