Integration plan for migrants

WORK started yesterday on an integration plan for Cork’s estimated 59,000 migrants that aims to improve their access to jobs and education.

It is hoped the plan, which was unveiled during the city’s first immigration symposium, will provide a blueprint for the rest of the country.

It was the first time political, business and education figures in Cork met with migrants and their representative groups.

A report presented during the event, organised by the Irish Immigrant Support Centre (Nasc), showed the exploitation is most common in the construction industry. The practice of paying wages below rates agreed by employers and trade unions is rife in the sector, with small to medium size firms mostly to blame.

Researcher Paul Dunbar said exploitation in the Irish context generally takes the form of underpayment of wages or non-payment of entitlements such as holiday pay or overtime. Migrants are often slow to stand up for themselves out of fear of losing their jobs, he said. There is also a stark lack of knowledge on their part of their rights. Mr Dunbar recommended stiffer penalties for employers found guilty of exploitation.

His research, “Access and participation in education and employment by migrants in Cork city”, also showed Africans find it most difficult to get work. Mr Dunbar said this was down to discrimination on the basis of their ethnic background.

His report also recommended the need for standardised English language classes and funding to deliver such a programme, the need for Irish employers to recognise the qualifications of migrants and the urgent need for a national policy on the educational needs of migrants.

Nasc said it recognises the need for a defined plan to be developed with all partners in the integration process. Its director, Gertrude Cotter, said: “We have met with many people who have migrated to Cork for various reasons and needless to say, the areas of education and work continually emerge as top priorities.

“We see the need for both local and national strategies to address the needs of what is now 10% of our population.”

Senator Dan Boyle said integration does not simply mean the recognition of cultural diversity or a declaration of formal equality.

“If we tolerate a society where foreign migrants cannot access the workplace on equal terms, or where they encounter systematic structural discrimination, we are storing up problems for the future,” he said.