Whistle-blower migrant workers ‘must be protected’

WHISTLE-BLOWER legislation will be of no use unless foreign workers with employment visas are guaranteed the right to stay in Ireland to find a new job if their employment is cancelled because they raised concerns.

Esther Lynch, legal and social officer with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said the current system makes it almost impossible for migrant workers to come forward with issues over the treatment of patients. She said it was understandable for these workers to feel they could lose their job or visa protection if they made a complaint as existing laws do not protect them.

Referring to the latest nursing home allegations, she said it is time Government “faced up to the reality of not protecting people who blow the whistle.”

“Protections have to work in practice and workers need to be protected from less favourable shifts, dismissals, black-lists and all other imaginative ways employers and agencies retaliate,” she said.

While whistle-blower legislation would fully protect Irish-born workers, Ms Lynch said. There is a clear need, she said, to also ensure it allows visa workers to find new work if necessary and to not fear being removed from the country if their employment is cancelled.

Her comments came as the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) again said revelations of alleged elder abuse at Rostrevor House Nursing Home could not have been uncovered without the help of whistle-blower workers on employment visas.

On April 27, 28 and August 31 last year, HIQA inspection teams highlighted some issues but gave a broadly positive view of the nursing home.

However, this changed drastically after specific concerns were raised over the treatment of vulnerable people at the facility.

A HIQA spokesperson said while whistle-blower legislation is needed, the 2007 Health Act also includes a “protective disclosure” section which is meant to ensure staff are protected if they raise concerns.

This act is on the statute but, according to HIQA, has not yet been implemented in full.

Meanwhile, the HSE and HIQA have both said the other organisation was responsible for informing the relatives of residents at Rostrevor House Nursing Home of the allegations at the facility.

It is understood not all families were informed of the claims or whether they related specifically to their relatives before news of the scandal emerged on Wednesday.