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.”