Poles paid 50% less than Irish Port Tunnel workers

POLISH workers on the State’s largest construction project, the Dublin Port Tunnel, are being paid half that of their Irish counterparts under a contract under investigation by Government labour inspectors.

The workers all employees of Format Industrial Construction Ltd also receive no holiday pay, no overtime payments and are terrified that speaking up will result in them being sacked and sent back to Poland.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner through a translator, Format workers said they were paid €1,935 a month before tax a figure which equates to just over €8 an hour for a 58-hour week. Those rates are backed up by Format contracts.