Immigration scams - Porous system must be mended

WHOLESALE abuse of the work permit system, under which foreign workers are recruited for jobs in this country, has finally spurred the Government to abandon schemes which are being ruthlessly exploited

Remarkably, despite a mountain of evidence that unscrupulous firms have been abusing the system for years, none have been successfully prosecuted.

The need to overhaul a system more riddled with holes than a sieve has been glaringly obvious for some time. However, it has taken the uncovering of a series of illegal scams to force the Government into action.

By this weekend, more than 40,000 legal immigrants will have come here on work permits in 2002, a figure that remains high despite the economic downturn.

Notoriously, an agreement allowing senior executives to be transferred between multi-national offices without permits has been widely exploited.

Furthermore, special training schemes for foreign workers have provided cover for smuggling operations.

In the face of widespread abuse, the two State schemes which were designed to allow foreign workers come here without permits have been scrapped.

Given the systematic abuse uncovered by immigration officials, the decision to shut down both schemes was entirely warranted.

Several cases under investigation involved bringing more than 100 illegal immigrants into this country.

If the scams were not so serious, they would almost be comical. In one instance, a squad of experienced butchers was being transferred from Botswana to an Irish company, ostensibly for training. Another involved a group of workers from the Czech Republic coming here for a year to be trained in making sandwiches. A third case saw more than 80 workers from Eastern Europe recruited by a meat plant under false pretences.

Besides undermining the employment prospects of local workers, some of whom have already been let go, such scams expose immigrants to the risk of being exploited by greedy employers who are only too willing to cream money off their pay packets.

The scam scenario was further illustrated last summer when immigration officials uncovered the exploitation of yet another loophole in legislation designed to facilitate people working in the entertainment industry.

Not surprisingly, concerns were raised when lap dancers were arriving here under cover of a clause intended for music bands and film crews.

There is an urgent need for tougher measures if this badly leaking system is to be plugged. It is vital not only to give immigrant workers greater protection against exploitation but also to ensure the public that blatant scams will be rooted out once and for all.