Labour bill proposes to jail agencies for importing cheap workers

LABOUR has proposed legislation that would jail employment agency operators who import cheap foreign workers.

A draft Protection of Employees (Agency Workers) Bill published yesterday would make it illegal for any employment agency to supply workers to industry here on lower wages or lesser conditions than apply to Irish employees engaged in the same kind of work.

Breaches of the law would attract fines of up to €150,000 and prison terms of up to two years. Labour’s enterprise spokesman, Willie Penrose, said it was “shameful” that such protections did not already exist.