Trade unions aim to recruit newly-arrived migrant workers

THE Government is still not doing enough to protect workers’ rights, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has said.

Speaking at a march in Dublin on Saturday, senior ICTU industrial officer Fergus Whelan said despite the justified public outrage at employment conditions in Gama, highlighted by Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins, the company had subsequently been awarded another major public contract. Gama was just one example of a worrying trend, he said.

At a meeting with 200 Polish workers in Newbridge last week, several stories of gross exploitation had been revealed. They included drivers who were employed by a road haulage firm for two months and were let go with only one month’s wages.