Construction workers protest against 'bogus' self-employment

They want to highlight what they say is the practice of hiring staff that are for all intents and purposes employees, but are treated by bosses as self-employed.

Campaigners say there are big financial gains for employers and serious consequences for the public finances.

"The whole arrangement is bogus. When they should be treated as a PAYE worker, they are being treated as self-employed," said ICTU's Billy Wall.

Congress Construction Committee protesting against the rampant misclassification of workers as self-employed (bogus self-employment) at the National Children's Hospital site this morning pic.twitter.com/aaBRUFDASK

— Irish Congress (ICTU) (@irishcongress) June 28, 2019

"Then the State is at a loss to the PRSI payments which has amounted to around €241 million for last year."

Explaining why the National Children's Hospital was chosen as the site for the protest Mr Wall said: "It was discovered at the National Children's Hospital that there was a contractor on it who was paying their workers as self-employed workers.

"These workers were turning up at 8am every morning, they were on a pre-determined wage, they were under the direct control of the foreman so it was determined that they were bogus self-employed and they are now being paid on a PAYE basis.

"The likes of the Children's Hospital were demanding that all workers on the hospital be paid on a PAYE basis."

Speaking during the protest, Unite Regional Officer for Construction Tom Fitzgerald said that a two-pronged approach is needed to stamp out bogus self-employment, which imposes an unacceptable cost on individual workers and the wider economy.

“First and foremost, we need to start with a presumption of employment, and force employers to prove that a worker is not an employee," said Mr Fitzgerald.

Secondly, the state should start using its considerable purchasing power to exclude companies using bogus self-employment, or other abusive labour practices, from bidding for public contracts.

“This would put an end to the situation whereby the workers building our hospitals or schools are forced into bogus self-employment."

Mr Fitzgerald said that stamping out bogus self-employment would be a win for both the workers and for the Exchequer.

"And it would be a win for decent employers who are currently being undercut by those who use bogus self-employment and other labour abuses to keep their prices down," he concluded.