Subcontractor accused of flouting rules

Plasterers picketed a major housing regeneration scheme yesterday and demanded tighter controls on subcontractors working on public projects.

The plasterer’s union, OPATSI, organised the protest at Cork City Council’s multi-million euro Glen regeneration project on the city’s northside to highlight the issue of a non-compliant subcontractor flouting agreed rates and conditions.

The union’s Cork branch secretary, Barry Murphy, said he has been seeking proof from the Glen project’s main contractor, and from Cork City Council, that a specific sub-contractor was adhering to the industry’s Registered Employment Agreement (REA) and living up to its pension and sick pay responsibilities.