Milosevic allies ‘owed migrants €4m’

MIGRANT workers here are owed at least €4 million by cronies of toppled Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, it was claimed yesterday.

Up to 200 electricians were hired by Energo, a Serbian sub-contract company run by associates of the Balkan despot who died in prison in March while facing war crime charges.

Under the registered employment agreement for migrant workers, an electrical linesman’s hourly pay rate is €20.39. Qualified Serbians hired by Energo were paid as little as €3.21, it is alleged, many quitting permanent jobs at home to work in Ireland.

Leaders of the TEEU electricians’ union, which is pursuing the Serbian workers’ case, estimate each could be owed up to €40,000 in wage arrears.

According to employment law expert Oisin Quinn, Energo appears to have breached the basic hiring agreement and seven other Irish employment statutes.

It is claimed workers, lured under the promise of years of employment in Ireland, were fired before the expiry of their contracts.

They had to surrender their work permits and passports on arrival, it is alleged, and workers who attempted to get help or seek their rights were let go.

TEEU assistant general secretary Eamon Devoy attacked the State’s labour inspectorate for failing to protect vulnerable workers and criticised the inspectorate’s delay in reporting on the matter.

The Serbian company was a sub-contractor to main ESB contractors Laing O’Rourke.

Former Energo employees attended a conference in Dublin at which Mr Devoy explained: “Last September it was brought to our attention there was a group of Serbian workers working on the ESB’s €3 billion networks renewal programme.

“We discovered these workers were working — in their own words — for €5 an hour on a Sunday. We carried out an investigation and contacted Laing O’Rourke (LOR).”

LOR told the union they were paying the sub-contractors the appropriate rates and if anyone was keeping back workers’ money it was not them.

Mr Devoy added: “I have no clarity about any of that, but I am clear about this: Laing O’Rourke gave certain assurances this year to pay the back money that was due to 96 Serbian workers that were working here last year when we raised the question with them. When we tried to bring that to a conclusion 10 weeks ago, the workers came under immense pressure to sign to accept a €1,000 lump sum.”

Case study

RADE Stijovic came from Serbia to Ireland full of trust and hope.

Lured by the promise of a massive pay check — five times what he’d get at home — he signed his contract with Serbian sub-contractors Energo two hours before his plane took off.

The father-of-three resigned from his permanent job on the promise of years of work in Ireland.

“I’ve been employed as a linesman here in Ireland since September 2004 until December 2005,” he said through an interpreter yesterday. “I received a dismissal notice before my contract expired. I am not the only one in my group — there were 40 — who have been dismissed. The reason was: there was no more work.”

Rade came back last January to pursue his case, one of 200 Serbian former employees looking for the money owed to them for the long days worked here.

He hopes but doubts he will get all the arrears due. “The Energo project is headed by the people from the former Milosevich regime,” he explained.

Rade didn’t keep track of his working hours.

No matter how long the days, they still got a monthly salary of €1,250.

Time to get justice is running out as Rade’s visa expires in July, but his union intends to carry on the fight.

TEEU leader Eamon Devoy said: “It’s an absolute disgrace what’s gone on and we intend to bring this matter to a satisfactory solution.”