Congress President and General Secretary of Mandate John Douglas has called on employers to end the assault on workers" entitlements and stop the self-defeating race to the bottom that is damaging our economy and society.
Mr Douglas was responding to claims relating to a dispute involving construction company JJ Rhatigan and trade union Unite, in which workers have allegedly been hired on bogus self-employment contracts and some earn less than €5 per hour, well below the agreed rate for the industry and the legal Minimum Wage.
"Workers in JJ Rhatigan's are being hired as bogus sub-contractors, resulting in a serious loss of earnings and sub standard conditions of employment. The Unite union has reports of workers earning well below the legal minimum wage – in contravention of the law," Mr Douglas said.
"But unfortunately this is not a new phenomenon. The spectre of bogus self-employment now hangs over many other sectors of the economy, dragging wages and standards down everywhere.
'this has to be brought to an end, because it is inflicting damage across a wider spectrum.
"When an employer undercuts wages, it means workers have less spending power and that harms local services and retail outlets. This results in downward pressure on employers and on workers, not to mention the loss in revenue for the exchequer."
Mr Douglas said the problem of rogue employers needed to be tackled with far greater urgency.
"In the past Joint Labour Committee's (JLC's) and Registered Employment Agreements (REA's) ensured employers didn't undercut their competitors unfairly. If employers like JJ Rhatigan are allowed to continue unhindered, other employers will follow suit resulting in constant downward pressure on wages and conditions of employment – which will damage our economy and threaten any economic recovery that may be ahead.
"It is up to our legislators to ensure that's not the case."
"If we"re serious about building a recovery based on decent work, fairness in society and on ending poverty, this issue must be tackled by politicians," he said.
Mr Douglas concluded by calling on all trade unions and trade unionists to show their solidarity and give their support to the JJ Rhatigan workers.
