Govt accused of indifference to migrant exploitation
The Labour Party has accused the Government of being indifferent to the exploitation of migrant workers by companies working on state contracts.
The accusation follows claims yesterday that almost 100 Serbians working on an ESB project in the midlands were being paid less than €5 an hour, which is just one quarter of what they were entitled to.
This is the latest in a string of revelations concerning the underpayment of foreign workers by contractors on ESB schemes.
Labour TD Brendan Howlin is now accusing the Government of deliberately turning a blind eye to such exploitation.
"There is a view within government that they want our economy to grow at any cost and if there is exploitation below the surface or beyond the radar line, they seem to be indifferent to it," he said.
"They certainly haven't been proactive in stamping it out."
