Polish workers’ tunnel jobs ‘guaranteed’

THE consortium building Dublin’s Port Tunnel has pledged to directly employ Polish workers if the Warsaw-based company at the centre of a migrant labour scandal does not comply with Irish labour law.

Format Industrial Construction Ltd yesterday provided written guarantees that Polish workers will be paid the same rates as their Irish counterparts, after the Irish Examiner revealed that the company was paying workers half that paid to their Irish counterparts.

Despite pledging to comply with Irish labour laws, Format was yesterday accused of intimidating workers in an attempt to uncover which employees had spoken to the Irish Examiner about their work conditions.

Last night SIPTU said a letter and questionnaire circulated to Format employees yesterday morning was nothing short of intimidation.

The letter says Format is seeking to “undertake legal action and claim financial compensation from those who instigated such losses suffered by us.

“Accordingly, our intention is to find the source(s) of information used in press articles.”

Format “reserves the right to demand every employee to give true information and to enclose it as legal evidence”.

But the person responsible for ensuring Port Tunnel firms are compliant with labour law, Paddy Hennessy of Contractors Administration Services, said the Polish jobs were protected.

“If Format walks away they are guaranteed their jobs in the tunnel. They needn’t worry about their jobs here. They have been backed up by Mowlems,” he said.

Mowlems are the lead firm in the Nishimatsu Mowlem Irishenco (NMI) tunnel consortium.

Mr Hennessy also confirmed that Format would now have to calculate any money underpaid to workers since Format began work on the tunnel last September.

“Any shortfall will have to be paid. They will have to reimburse them,” he said.